Odd One Out
by SirStonewall
Summary: After a life-changing event that leaves a girl orphaned, she finds that the only comfort she can find lies in the Saunders tank garage, especially in a re-painted 'captured' vehicle.
1. Chapter 1

**[A/N]: This is a story that a dear friend of mine started, and wants me to help her finish and publish. I hope y'all enjoy, and please leave a review if you like it!**

* * *

Loneliness, an empty void that seems to consume what little fun I have in my life.

Pain, my limiter on what fun I _can_ have, and a constant reminder of why I am where I'm at.

Guilt, I shouldn't have survived the car crash that took my parents, but instead of dying like they did, my right leg was crushed and severed at the knee.

Here I lay, stuck in an orphanage, no blood-related family to speak of, and a prosthetic at the foot of the bed. The one thing that keeps me going is my undying love and respect for tanks. The pure power and demand for respect has always drawn me out of my bed during the weekend to take a walk down to the school, where the students allow me to work with them doing maintenance.

Today's one of those days, a Saturday, and it's early, too early for anyone else to be up, the sun hasn't even started to lighten the horizon.

My phone vibrates under my head as my alarm goes off and I quickly turn off the alarm before sitting up and swinging my left leg out, leaning forward to the foot of the bed to grab my prosthetic.

I slip the stump into the rubber cup on the top and secure it with a neoprene leg off an old wet suit I had. Once the prosthetic is secured I grab my change of clothes off my foot locker and get dressed in the jeans and black t-shirt. All the other kids here know I do this daily, so even if anyone wakes up they don't say anything.

I slip my Carhartt jacket on and lace up my boots, quickly stuffing my wallet and multi-tool in my pockets before opening the window, the mesh screen having long since been removed by yours truly.

I climb out the window and hang with one hand while closing it with the other.

Once I feel it click shut I plant my feet against the bricks and push off while turning around.

I land with a roll and jump up, sprinting towards the wall in order to get enough momentum to get up and over it.

With a practiced ease I jump up, grab the top of the wall, and pull myself over, landing on the sidewalk on the other side and casually walking down the street.

I've made this walk so many times it's almost second nature, down the street three blocks, hang a right, down two more blocks, left at the convenience store, and one more block to the school, then walk around back of the tank garage and scale the chain link fence. Inside the back door to the garage, and then get to work tightening tracks, cleaning gun barrels, and topping off any engine fluids.

Something about being around these large, menacing machines makes me feel safe, safer than in the orphanage, or even the police station. I don't feel shy, or lonely, and my guilt goes away.

I remember going to the museum with my dad, and I would climb all over the tanks they had there while my dad would read the manuals. I still have the last picture we took together, taken by a random passerby that we flagged down. In the photo I'm straddling the main cannon on a Pzkpfw V ausf G, with my dad sitting on the turret roof beside me. On that same trip he bought me a model of the panther, and we assembled it that night.

The crash happened four days later, T-boned by a semi truck driver that had fallen asleep at the wheel.

I stare at this same photo now, sitting atop a panther nearly identical except for the markings and camouflage. It's my favorite tank, sheerly because of the memories associated with it. It's in the best condition of all the tanks, despite the fact that the school tankery team almost never uses it. It sports a white American star on each side of the turret, with a simple OD green identical to the dozens of Sherman tanks lined up in the garage.

I'm jolted from my memories by the remaining lights turning on, followed by a familiar voice that yells across the garage. "Howdy there Chris! You're up early as always!"

My full name is Christina May Schultz, but everyone here at Saunders just calls me Chris.

"Hi Kay! I was up at the same time as always!" I yell back, watching the blonde as she walks across the garage, a plastic bag in her right hand.

"I brought you a few energy drinks, I figured you can take 'em home if you don't drink them here."

I flinch at the word 'home', nobody at Saunders knows about my past except for Alisa, and that's only because she stuck her nose where it didn't belong and I had to beg her not to tell anyone else. But I intend on changing that here very soon.

"Kay, you didn't have to. Working on these vehicles is enough of a reward for me."

She waves me off, scaling the front slope and sitting down next to me. "I know it, but this is a personal thank you from me."

She hands me the bag, and I pull out two cans of fruit punch flavored energy drinks.

"Well then crack one open and enjoy it while I tell you a story. Because I'm not allowed to have these at home."

Kay takes one, and we both take a good swig before I start.

"There was this girl several years back. She was top of her class, loved everything about tanks, and visited the museum practically weekly to climb around her favorites with her dad. On her thirteenth birthday her dad bought her a model of her favorite tank and they built it that night, painted it and everything. She felt like the luckiest girl alive. Then, four days later, her life got turned on its head, her family got into a car crash with a semi truck. Both her parents were killed and she lost part of her leg. After she got put in an orphanage the only comfort she could find was in tanks, so she found the closest tanks she could and convinced the owners to let her work on them, even though they were private property."

I show Kay the picture of my dad and I, a smile on my face. "That's my dad and I with my favorite tank." I pat the cold steel next to me with my other hand. "I've always enjoyed being in the presence of a Panther, it's comforting."

Kay looks like she's starting to catch onto what I'm telling her, so I throw in the final piece to the puzzle.

"And then," I put my foot on the gun barrel and hike up my pant leg to reveal my prosthetic. "Four weeks later, I'm rushed into the emergency room missing half my leg. When I wake up I'm told that my parents didn't survive the crash, and that once my injuries are healed I'll be sent to an orphanage."

Kay stares at my leg until I roll the fabric down, taking a deep swig of the caffeinated beverage in my hand once I'm finished.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kay asks, bearing a hurt expression.

"I didn't want you guys to pity me. Alisa found out pretty early on, but I begged her to keep quiet about it until I was ready. I just wanted to be treated like a regular person, and not like some poor girl."

Kay nods slowly, understanding what I'm getting at, then she cracks a smile and snorts. "Now I understand why you hate those foot triggers in the Sherman."

That causes me to laugh, spraying energy drink out my nose since I'd just taken a swig, which only makes me laugh harder.

"Yeah! That's exactly why!" I manage to squeak out, laughing so hard my eyes start to water.

"I'm gonna guess you don't much care for driving either." Kay smirks at me, a glint in her eye that tells me she's up to something.

"Nah, it's kinda hard for me." I chuckle, finally coming down from my laughter fit after several minutes.

"Hmmm…how about we take this beast out for a joyride?

I suddenly stop giggling and look at her. "Are you serious?"

"Of course! Once we get a full crew here we could even take it out to the range!"

I knock back the rest of my drink and toss the can to a nearby garbage can.

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's get this girl ready to rumble!" I say with a sudden burst of energy, jumping off the turret and landing on my feet.

Kay laughs, climbing down and grabbing a refueling nozzle while I stash the bag of drinks and climb onto the engine deck. I unscrew the filler cap for the fuel and take the nozzle, jamming it into the hole before holding the handle down while it pumps gallons of fuel into the bone dry fuel tanks. Kay grabs a helmet and throat microphone from the equipment storage room on the opposite side of the garage and gives them to me once I'm done filling the tank.

"Here, put these on, so we can talk and the helmet'll protect your melon."

I fit the microphone with her help and slip the helmet on before climbing into the commander's hatch, practically vibrating with excitement while Kay puts on her own equipment and climbs into the driver's hatch after opening the large bay doors.

I check my watch while Kay struggles starting the Maybach engine.

' _0746, most of the others should be getting up right about now.'_

I grab the handset hanging off a hook beside me after Kay gets the engine started, the rumble of the twelve cylinder engine makes me giddy. "Yo Kay, we got any blanks in here?"

{Yeah I think so! They should be by your left foot in the hull. Why do you ask?}

"I was thinking we could help the orphanage wake up."

I can hear Kay laughing even without the intercom system. "Let's do it!"

I heft the blank shell out of the stowage and hold it in my lap while we rumble down the streets, giving directions to Kay along the way.

Finally we clatter to a stop in front of the orphanage, and I peek out the hatch to find the lights are all off.

' _Perfect'_

I duck back down into the hatch and open the breech with my right hand while cradling the long 75mm shell in my left arm like a child. Once the breech is open I slip the shell under the recoil guard and hold it in place with my left hand while I loop my right arm over the recoil guard and shove it home with a closed fist as to not possibly lose my fingers when the breech block closes.

"Gun loaded!" I tell Kay while I lean forward and brush my fingers on the electrical trigger. "On the way!"

I pull the trigger and relish in the feeling as the gun fires, ejecting the empty shell when it recoils. The spike of adrenaline does a better job at waking me up than caffeine could ever hope, and I quickly stand on my seat so I'm half out of the hatch. A light finally turns on in the room that I sleep in, followed by the window opening and a girl sticking her head out.

"Good morning Serena! Tell Miss Ratched I'm going to be out late again!" I yell as I wave to the ravenette and grab the handset.

"Alright, let's roll outta here."

The tank lurches forward, forcing me to grab the cupola to avoid being thrown around, followed by Kay apologizing in my headset. {Sorry 'bout that! It's been awhile since I last drove this thing!}

I honestly couldn't care less, climbing on one of these things is fun enough, but actually getting to ride around in one and even fire the main gun? I'm in heaven, I haven't had this much fun for _years_.

"This is AWESOME!" I cheer, letting the wind whip around my long hazel hair.

{I'm gonna take us into the forest, then it's up to you to navigate.}

"Oh, alright! Is there a map in here somewhere?"

{There should be one in the map case by your left shoulder if you're sitting.}

I drop down into the hatch and open the map case, sure enough there's a hard plastic map of the woods. We weave through the streets for several minutes before reaching the edge of the woods.

"Alright...we should be somewhere around H-13 if I'm reading this correctly. Proceed forwards, we'll reach a dirt road in a hundred yards, then follow that left."

{You got it!}

I swing the hatch cover over so it's in the open protected position to keep branches from smacking my head while we rumble through the trees, crushing bushes under our treads, and we reach the dirt road just as I expected.

{Wow, I'm surprised. Where'd you learn to read a map?}

"My dad taught me."

We turn left on the rocky road, and I feel us accelerate, the torsion bar suspension providing an exceptionally smooth ride over the rough terrain.

"Any place in particular you want to go?" I ask, looking at the map and scrutinizing the terrain with an attention to any steep areas.

{Yeah, let's head to the range, I can have Naomi meet us there with some live ammo.}

I locate the firing range and trace the roads leading from it, finding one that links up with the road we're on.  
"Fork in the road, hang a right, then stay on that road."

{Roger that! Full speed ahead!}

I can almost see Kay's maniacal grin in my mind when she shifts into the next gear, accelerating even further. The trees rush past in a blur when we hit level ground, thus giving the engine less to fight to keep the vehicle up to speed.

The thick trees give way to an open field, a line of firing berms sit a hundred yards from the tree line, overlooking the firing range that stretches out for three miles across the low rolling hills.

We roll to a stop at the base of a berm, and Kay powers down the engine before climbing up to the turret and standing in the loader's station.

"Hop in the gunners seat and traverse hard left, ninety degrees."

I do as instructed, grabbing the manual traverse handle and cranking it counterclockwise, watching the azimuth scale on the turret ring and stopping when it reaches 9 o'clock. By the time I'm done I'm breathing heavily, but it's to be expected since I've never really done this before, aside from a couple months ago when Alisa let me ride along to the range and help load the 76mm on her M4A1(76).

* * *

We wait for ten minutes or so until a pair of 2.5 ton trucks and a Sherman firefly come rumbling down the road, four people sit on the back of the Sherman until it rolls to a halt on the berm to our left, then they jump off and start casually chatting with each other while a truck backs up to the right side. Kay unlatches the hatch on the rear of the turret and pushes it open as the truck snugs the tailgate against the side of the tank, allowing the ammunition to be passed from the bed straight into the hatch without any extra effort.

I do my best to stay out of the way while Kay and another girl from the truck load the heavy shells into the stowage, and after a while I opt to sit on the turret roof, anxiously waiting for Kay to tell me she's done.

I watch Naomi give her crew orders and jump off the tank, putting a stick of gum in her mouth while she walks towards me.

"Hey Naomi! It's good to see you!" I yell at her, throwing in a friendly wave.

"Hello Chris! Any reason why you've got a headset on?"

I shrug, and Kay sticks her head out of the commanders hatch.

"I've got the answer to that! Even though she's not part of the school she's an honorary member of the sensha-do team!"

I practically snap my neck looking over at her. "Wait WHAT?!"

"Yeah! You've helped us so much that you've earned a spot! And after how well you did earlier giving directions I figure you'll make a great commander!"

"But that was just one person, not an entire crew!"

"And that's why your crew is already here!" Kay motions to the four girls standing off to the side by the firefly, who start walking over.

I put my head in my hands, take a deep breath, and straighten up. "God dammit Kay…" I groan out, standing up on the engine deck before jumping off, landing next to Naomi, who offers me a stick of peppermint gum.

I shake my head no and try my best to smile towards the approaching girls, whilst the phantom pain starts to come back in my leg.

"Shit I forgot my pain meds this morning…" I mumble, favoring my left leg. Unfortunately Naomi hears me, and calls me out. "Pain meds?"

I nod, motioning for her to wait a second while I introduce myself to the girls.

"Hey y'all, I'm Chris."

The shortest of them holds her hand out. "I'm Megumi, your radio operator. Nice to meet you."

I shake her hand while the second girl introduces herself, I gotta admit I like her hair color, a deeper brown than my hair.

"I'm Sako, your driver."

Then the ginger of the group thrusts her hand out. "I'm Tamaka, just call me Tama. I'm your loader."

I shake her hand while the last of the girls steps forward, giving a polite bow. "My name is Tetsuki, I'm your gunner."

I bow back and look them over, they all have a dedicated look to them, but my attention is quickly drawn away from them by the pain in my leg. Then I get a funny idea on how to break my past to them.  
"Hey Naomi, mind helping me take off my boot for a second? It's loose enough, just pull."

I hold out my right leg while balancing on my left, and Naomi shrugs, kneeling down and grabbing my boot. I take a glance up at Kay, who's watching with great interest and wink at her before looking down to Naomi. "Just pull, really hard."

Naomi pulls hard, and my prosthetic slips off, sending her sprawling on the dirt, holding the polymer, titanium, and aluminum prosthetic. With the look on her face I can't help but laugh, and Kay joins in with me while Naomi looks between me and the fake leg in her hands.

"How long have you had this?" Naomi asks, hauling herself up and brushing herself off.

"Ever since I was fifteen, so before I met you guys. I'm surprised you didn't notice."

Naomi hands me the prosthetic before I hop over to the Panther, jumping up on the engine deck before rolling my pant leg up and fitting the prosthetic back on.

"And how'd that happen?" Tama asks, a quizzical expression on her face.

"Car crash. Semi truck hit us, took my parents too."

"So you're an orphan?"

"Yep! The orphanage is only a few blocks from the school."

Once I'm done rolling my pant leg down I stand up and look down into the commander's hatch. "We loaded?"

Kay ducks under the gun breech and puts the shell she's carrying into the ready round storage. "That was the last one!"

I straighten up and wave my crew over. "Let's mount up! It's time to kill some shit!"

They all jump into action as Kay climbs out the rear hatch onto the truck, all of them clamber up onto the steel and drop into the hatches. I'm the last person in, but only because Tama and Tetsuki climb in through my hatch.

"Alright Sako, fire it up!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The engine whines for a minute while the inertia starter spins, then the engine turns over with a mighty roar that drowns out the sound of the trucks. I wait for a minute to let the engine idle before turning on the intercom. "Driver, forward slow, halt once we're on the berm."

If anything, I guess all those hours I spend playing Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead are finally going to pay off.

The tank slowly rolls forward up onto the berm, halting once we're level as I ordered.

"Load AP, standby for target."

Tama grabs one of the long shells from the hull stowage and expertly slams it in the breech.

{Gun loaded!}

I stick my head out the hatch and use a pair of binoculars that I had found in a case under my seat to scan for targets.

I find a stationary target that looks like a tiger I partially obscured by some bushes.

"Gunner, target tank, eleven o'clock, six hundred meters."

The turret slews left slowly, with Tetsuki looking through her telescopic gun-sight until she finds the target.

{On target!}

I grin, I've always wanted to say my next words. "Feuer frei."

The gun thunders, and I can hear the clang of the empty shell casing being ejected inside the tank.

Suddenly there's a nice neat hole in the center of the target, about the size of my fist.

"Good hit, bulls-eye."

I can hear Tama grab another shell and slam it into the breech while I scan for another target. I find one way out in the distance, and make my best guess on the distance.

"Gunner, target tank, twelve-thirty, two thousand meters."

The turret slowly turns right, and I can tell that Tetsuki is having trouble finding the target at the extreme distance.

"Tetsuki, use the coax, I'll guide you onto the target."

{Yes ma'am!}

The coaxial MG-34 fires five round bursts every time Tetsuki makes an adjustment, so I can guide her aim. After some trial and error she finds the target.

{Target acquired! No guarantee I can hit it at that distance though.}

"There's only one way to find out. Fire."

The gun kicks back inside the turret, slinging the empty casing out the breech which drops into a collection bin on the turret floor.

I watch the shell fly out and land a little short, just a hundred meters.

"Little higher, that hit low. Reengage."

Tama once again hustles, and gets the gun loaded before I'm done speaking.

{Clear!}

Tetsuki elevates the gun a little and fires. I watch the shell scream out and punch a nice neat hole in the center of the target, only visible thanks to the white rock behind it.

"Good hit, keep it up."


	2. Chapter 2

After spending some time on the range and doing timed maneuvers we head back to the garage, and I pull Kay aside for a word.

"Kay, I don't even know if the orphanage will allow me to do this, I'm pretty much using all my freedom just coming here on weekends to help with maintenance." I keep my voice low, as to not let the others hear.

"Oh…" Kay slumps her shoulders, dropping her usual carefree attitude for a moment before it's back, and she's got that dangerous gleam in her eyes. "Well I guess we'll just have to come in and spread some democracy eh?"

I roll my eyes at the bad joke and sigh. "And what do you mean by that?"

Kay gives me a wry smile. "Well, I've always wanted a sister who's roughly the same age."

"Y-you mean it? Like, you really mean that?" I stammer, my heart having jumped into my throat.

"Of course! Why would I joke about something like that?"

I don't know why, but the tears I'd been holding back for months on end start to flow, streaking down my face and dripping off my chin.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kay puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and I wipe my eyes with my forearm.

"Nothing's wrong, things couldn't be more right! I could kiss you right now, I'm so happy!"  
I rush forward and hug Kay tightly, catching her off guard for a second before she returns the hug.

I step back after a few seconds, giving a sniffle while wiping my eyes again. Then I wince and lean against a table for support. "Ow, okay, maybe things could be a little better. If only this damn pain would go away."

"You want some ibuprofen?"

I shake my head. "No, it's not that kind of pain. It's a phantom pain, I've got a prescription I take every morning, but I was in such a rush this morning that I forgot to take it."

"Oh, you want me to take you to the orphanage so you can get some relief?"

I grit my teeth and nod, the pain is getting worse by the second, making it feel like what's left of my leg is on fire.

"Arisa! Pull around the jeep on the double!" Kay yells across the garage at the office overlooking the garage from the second floor.

I see Arisa jump up, run down the stairs, then out of the building, followed by the sound of a jeep starting up outside.

Pushing myself off the table I start walking towards the open bay door, with a little assistance from Kay, who insists on having me lean on her. I wave goodbye to my crew, who all are crawling over the Panther, doing after-mission maintenance.

They all happily wave back, yelling words of praise towards my performance today.

I limp out to the jeep, where Arisa sits in the back, behind the driver's seat, and I climb into the passenger seat, letting Kay drive.

We arrive at the orphanage only three minutes later, to find that the gate is closed. While Kay is wondering how we're going to get in, I climb out and sprint at the wall, jumping last-second and pulling myself over before walking to the gate and unlocking it, since the caretaker likes to put the padlock on the _inside._

The gates are swung open, and Kay parks the jeep in the driveway before following me up the front steps. When I open the door I find Miss Ratched waiting for me, her expression makes me shiver, because she is _pissed_ , until she sees Kay that is.

"Oh, well hello Kay! What brings the sensha-do team president here?"

I politely brush past her and head upstairs to the girls room, where four beds and a surplus cot sit lined up on a wall. I walk to the end and open up my footlocker, quickly grabbing the bottle of pills and dumping two into my palm. Without any water I just swallow them dry, capping and tossing the bottle back into my footlocker before closing the lid and locking the padlock.

I've actually got four footlockers, but the one at the foot of my bed is the only one I lock, because it holds all my valuables, including medications, my laptop, and what little money I have. The other three are organized under my bed, holding my clothes in accordance to how I sleep, so my bras and shirts are closest to the the head, while the next one holds my undergarments and jeans, and then my socks and an extra prosthetic in the last one. It takes up a lot of space under my bed, but I don't have to mess around trying to find what I'm looking for, I just grab the metal handle, flip the lid open, and everything is right there instead of being in a drawer. I've got my idea of efficiency, you've got yours.

I can feel someone watching me while I spin the tumbler on the padlock, and look over my shoulder to find Arisa leaning on the door jamb, a smile on her face.

"You're really military-oriented aren't you? I mean, basically everything in your corner is surplus."

I smile and nod, standing up and waving her in while I wait for the medication to kick in. "Yeah, I'm pretty rough on things when I'm in a hurry, I ended up 'accidentally' breaking the dresser they gave me, so before they could get me another one I went out and bought some footlockers. It's just more conservative on space, and I know for certain where everything is. Plus if someone ever decides to adopt me I can just pack my cot, carry these out, and I'm ready to go."

"That's…actually really smart. Y'know, Kay is talking to the administration about adopting you. She's really excited about it, and from what she told me you're gonna be the official crew of that Panther. She showed me some footage of you running the time trials, and I'll say that I am really impressed, nobody's ever gotten times like that, not even Kay."

I sit down on my messy bed, in my rush this morning I didn't make it, so my covers are kinda haphazardly thrown towards the wall. "I guess video games _do_ transfer over to real life sometimes."

"Really? With how you did I'd guess you'd done sensha-do before. You were flawless in micromanaging your crew, and some of those shots on the move surprised everyone, even Naomi."

I giggle a little, now the medication has finally started to work its magic, and the pain slowly fades away. "I play a _ton_ of military sims, some more realistic than others, so I've learned to micromanage. And those shots were a technique that I learned from a tank sim, though it was my gunner that made it possible."

Arisa sits down beside me, wearing that same cocky smile she has when she's commanding her crew. "Care to show me what you play? I think Kay is probably going to be awhile."

I look at my digital watch momentarily.

The time reads 1636.

"Hmmm…I suppose. The guys should be online right about now."

* * *

Two hours after I took my medication and Arisa got interested in my collection of games on my computer we still sit on my bed, my laptop placed on three footlockers stacked in a pyramid to raise it up to our level. Arisa is at the controls, playing Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead with the I44 mod.

Through the speakers ring out the voices of some online friends from the U.S.A, mostly talking trash with some tactics mixed in while they play some PvP in tanks.

My headset sits on my head, with only the microphone plugged in so Arisa can hear and communicate too.

 _"Woah! Panther left!"_ One of them yells as the lead Cromwell in the column blows up, accompanied by a groan from the commander. It came to no surprise to me when Arisa chose the M4A3(76)W HVSS as her tank of choice, rather than taking something a little faster like a Cromwell, like the other three vehicles in the column.

Another Cromwell detonates before Arisa spots the Panther and directs the gunner onto the target and he fires. The shell hits dead on, and looking over Arisa's shoulder I can see the crew bail out, the gun and turret having been disabled.

"Panther destroyed, nice shot Brandon." I grin before the speakers register a loud clang and the Sherman detonates, leaving Arisa and I with nothing to do but re-spawn and wait while the last tank commander yelps. _"There's a Tiger to the right!"_

Suddenly there's a knock at the door, and I finally notice Kay standing in the doorway, a manila folder in one hand and a grin from ear to ear. "Welcome to the family, you need help getting your stuff packed?"

I practically rip the headset off and jump around the computer with the agility of a small bear before running to Kay and hugging her. "Thank you!" She hugs me back tightly for a few seconds before I pull away. "As for my stuff, once I get my computer and cot packed up I should be set to go." I talk while I walk back to my cot, sitting down next to Arisa and nudging her over so I can access the keyboard while simultaneously holding the headset up. "Hey guys, I'll talk to you all later. I' gotta hop off for the day."

They all voice their goodbyes while I shut down the game, and I start packing my headset while the computer turns off. Once the computer is off I slide it into my valuables footlocker and shut the lid, clicking the padlock into place once again.

"All the footlockers can be taken down, be careful with this one, but the others are just clothes. I'll get my bed packed."

Arisa and Kay start hauling the metal boxes outside while I break down my cot and secure it with two bungee cords, throwing the pillow two beds down to Serena's bed. I pull the pictures off the wall and stack them together before placing them in my back pocket, doing a thorough search to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.

"I think that's it…" I mutter to myself, looking around the room one last time with my cot under one arm. I feel happy to finally be leaving the orphanage, yet I know I'm going to miss all the other kids here.

Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder, and look over to find Kay standing there, a gentle smile on her face. "You want me to give you a minute?"

I look back at the room momentarily, then shake my head and turn to walk down the hall. "No, I've had enough time. Just getting one last look."

She takes the cot from me, and quickly carries it downstairs while I slowly saunter my way down the hall, and take the stairs slowly, remembering everything as it was when I first came here.

At the base of the stairs are the other dozen orphans, many of which no older than fifteen excluding myself and two others.

I come face-to-face with the headmistress, my 'mother' for the past few years, and hold my hand out. "Thank you for everything. I know you and I never really agreed on much, but you were the closest to family that I had."

She takes my hand and shakes it firmly, her stone-cold expression breaking when a tear rolls down her cheek. "I'm going to miss you, you added character to the orphanage. Feel free to stop by at any time."

I nod, any more than that and I risk breaking into tears.

Suddenly I'm wrapped up in a hug that pops a few of my ribs, I know it's Serena, who almost always hugs me hard enough to make it difficult to breathe.

I wait for her to release me, and gently hug her back once I can breathe again. "You'll see me again, just make sure you watch the Sensha-do matches. I'll visit whenever possible."

I feel a wet warmth on my shoulder, and realize Serena is crying, the normally incredibly withdrawn girl is actually _crying_ over me leaving.

"Geez, I didn't know you'd fell for me so hard." I tease her, wiping the tears off her face with one hand while rubbing circles in her back with the other. "I'll visit you whenever I can, you hear?"

She nods, sniffling while she hugs me again. Then I feel another person hugging me, then another, and another. In seconds all of the children are hugging me, most around the legs.

"I'm gonna miss you guys...but I will visit….and remember this; every tank that I knock out in Sensha-do is for you guys."

My eyes start to water while I say my goodbyes to each of the younger kids, but I manage to keep the flood at bay until I get outside, and Kay starts to drive out.

As we drive away from the orphanage I smile, kick my feet up on the dash, and let the tears flow.

Time for my second chance at life.

* * *

 **[A/N]: This chapter is shorter than I normally do, but I do hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!**

 **Chapter three should be uploaded shortly, most likely within an hour or so of this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3: First taste of tankery!

I'll admit, when we rolled up to Kay's house I was a little taken aback. The two-story house that made the orphanage look small by comparison, and the front entrance looked like it belonged on a mansion.

When we roll to a stop at the base of the steps I climb out, still gawking at the estate that I now call home.

"It sure is something ain't it? This is the family estate, though when we transfer to the carrier we'll be living in an apartment. Come on, I'll introduce you to the family and give you a tour."

I can only grunt an acknowledgment as I walk around the jeep and up the brick steps, I'm speechless at the sheer size of the building.

Kay notices my stare and laughs, a high pitched peal of bells that breaks me from my stupor. "It only looks this big because the right half is offices."

"Ohhh okay, that makes sense."

We reach the door, and Kay opens it to reveal my new parents; a tall slender blonde woman that makes it clear where Kay got most of her features, and a hardened, muscular redheaded man, just from how he stands and presents himself I can tell he was in the JSDF at one point.

"Hey mom! Dad! We're home! This is the girl I called you about."

I bow respectfully, clasping my hands in front of me. "My name is Christina May, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Kay gives me a quizzical look. "You're not going to use your last name?"

"I was going to leave it up to you all if I could keep it…" I mumble loud enough for everyone to hear, I was planning on saying it louder, damn my shyness.

The parents look at each other before nodding in sync. "Of course you can keep it. We won't force you to take our last name."

I let out a sigh of relief, my last name is one of the few things that I still have from my mother. "Thank you. My last name is Schultz."

Kay hands her dad the folder containing my dossier. "If you two could read that while I give her the tour and we figure out sleeping arrangements, we can have a family meeting once we're done."

He nods and steers his wife up the steps, and out of sight.

* * *

Kay gives me a full tour of the house, leading me by the wrist most of the time until I trip over my own feet and fall on my face. Then she finally slows down, walking side by side with me down the halls.

"Aaand here's the bedrooms! Choice of either getting your own room, or we can share a room. I personally don't care, it's up to you." Kay explains as we near the end of the last unexplored hallway.

"Uhhhhh…" I struggle to make a decision, and finally come up with an idea. "Got a coin?"

Kay digs in her pockets and finally produces an American quarter.

"Heads we share, tails I get my own."

She nods and flips the coin, the small silver disk flips end over end several times before hitting the ground. Kay crouches down and looks at it before picking it up and stuffing the coin back in her pocket. "Heads!"

"Alright then, I guess we're sharing a room."

She waves me along into the room to our right, inside is your typical bedroom, a desk at the opposite end, bed in the right far corner, and a dresser at the foot of the bed. "The entire left side of the room is yours, I'll start carrying stuff up." Kay is very relaxed at the moment, and walks out, leaving me to follow on my own accord.

* * *

I wish I could say something interesting happened after that, but I can't. We got my stuff organized, ate dinner, and had a short conversation with my new parents before I shower and go to bed, the fatigue of the day catching up with me as soon as I lay my head down. I leave my phone under my head so it wakes me up in the morning, and let the night consume me.

* * *

" _Hey mom, we should do a family photo next time we go to the museum." I sit behind my dad in our car, on the right side while we drive down the well-lit road._

" _Maybe honey, you know I don't really like the museum." My mom responds, her eyes fixed on her phone._

" _I know… I just want a nice picture with all of us together." I give a dejected look while staring out the window as we approach a four-way intersection._

 _I notice a semi truck approaching the intersection, but it dawns on me too late that he's not stopping, we're already into the intersection, and with the truck bearing down on us, there's no time to warn my dad, who's driving._

 _I barely have enough time to throw my upper body left onto the seat before the truck hits us in the front right, caving in the bodywork like it's made of paper mache._

"GAH!" I bolt upright in bed, in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. The room looks unfamiliar at first, but then I remember I'm living with Kay now. It's light outside, visible through a small slit that had been cut in the blacked-out window.

"Wha…? What time is it?" I mumble to myself, still in a slight daze from waking up so suddenly. I pat my cot for my phone, and find it on the edge. "I don't remember putting it there and holy shit it's almost noon."

I drop the phone and grab my prosthetic, quickly slipping in on under the neoprene that helps hold it in place before practically throwing open my footlocker and grabbing my prescriptions. Without any water I once again down them dry, and toss the half-dozen bottles into the metal box before easing the lid shut. I grab my pre-prepared clothes and make sure the door is locked before getting dressed, exchanging my usual blue jeans for black cargo pants and wearing an OD green t-shirt.

I hurriedly jam my wallet, phone, and multi-tool in my pocket before grabbing an OD green jacket that Kay gave me. It fits rather well, and the amount of pockets makes it very handy to have.

My black combat boots come last, as I don't plan on walking aimlessly around the house, I'm heading straight out the door and to the school garage, where hopefully my crew is performing maintenance on the Panther.

And that's exactly what I do, aside from making a two block detour to a convenience store to buy a breakfast burrito, which I quickly devour en-route to the garage.

When I get there though, I find the Panther and seven Shermans MIA, including Naomi's Firefly and Kay's relatively new M4A3E8. I start to worry that they'd started a 4v4 match without me, but Arisa comes to the rescue with a jeep.

"Hop in!"

I jump into the passenger seat and Arisa floors the accelerator, racing out of the courtyard and up a dirt road into the woods. We rattle and shakes up the narrow road for a mile or so until we reach the staging area, where four trucks are parked, currently working on loading ammunition into three M4A2's and Naomi's Firefly.

We roll to a stop and I jump out, walking straight to the Panther and climbing up the front glacis. I find the commanders hatch closed and secured, so I rap on it several times with my knuckles, waiting while I hear the sound of movement inside. The hatch is soon raised and swung to the side before a girl with a leather tanker helmet sticks her head out.

"Aren't you Arisa's loader?" I ask, looking down at her.

"Yes ma'am."

"Then get out, you're in my seat."

"B-but Kay said I would command this vehicle until the commander showed up."

"I am the commander as of yesterday, now hop out, I need to get a SITREP from my crew."

She quickly scrambles out the hatch, dropping off the side and walking to the jeep that Arisa's in.

I ignore her upset grumbling and drop down into the hatch, earning welcomes from the entire crew.

"Good morning everyone. What's the deal here? Obviously we're doing four on four matches, but what's the teams?"

Tama is the one to answer. "It's going to be us, and three Sherman's against Naomi, Kay, and two standard 'A2's. They're trying to get some new crews familiar with driving in formation, so there's a fixed path that we can ambush them on."

I grin fiendishly, putting my headset on. " _Excellent._ Start it up Sako. Megumi let the others know we're rolling out."  
"Roger!" "Yes ma'am!"

The inertial starter whines while it spins up, while we're waiting for it to get enough RPM I hear a clunk on the turret roof, and I look up to find Kay standing above me.

"Well good morning! Enjoy the extra sleep?"

I narrow my eyes at those last words. "You turned my alarm off didn't you?"

"Yep! But you're gonna need the sleep, because today I'm testing you! Instead of a four on four it's going to be a six on two, with you and Naomi being on the smaller team." A smug grin spreads across her face while I gawk at her.

Finally I just shrug it off and smile. "Hope you're ready to get knocked out."

She laughs and gives me a thumbs up. "That's the spirit! Good luck!" She jumps off just as the engine turns over and roars to life, Sako revs the engine several times before letting it settle down into a glugging idle.

"Megumi, change of plans, contact Naomi and tell her to follow us. The other vehicles should follow Kay."

{Yes ma'am!}

I wait for Megumi to relay the message and stand up on my seat, hanging my pair of binoculars off my neck while I do so.

{Message relayed, Naomi says she's loading the last few rounds.}

I wave to Naomi when she emerges from her tank, and she holds up four fingers, meaning they have four rounds left to load.

I flash her a thumbs up before dropping back down the hatch. "Sako, let's roll out, Naomi will catch up. Ahead slow, follow the road."

{Acknowledged.}

The tank slowly advances out of the line of vehicles, the engine rumbling echoes off the trees as we turn onto the narrow road that becomes more reminiscent of French bocage farmland the further we travel down it. I scrutinize the map, tracing the route that was already drawn on it, and notice a crossroads surrounded by open terrain, with a patch of woods on the far right side of the designated path, some thousand yards away from the road.

"Megumi, tell Naomi to move to point F12 and camouflage. Sako turn right at the crossroads and move to point F15, flank speed." They both acknowledge, and the tank surges forward, slinging mud and rocks behind us in a 'rooster tail'.

Sako takes the crossroads going a little fast, but really impresses me by drifting the forty-five ton tank around the corner in the mud, _and_ remaining on the road while doing so.

{Woohooo!} Sako yells into her microphone, causing everyone visible to me to give a wince at the volume.

"Sako, what did you drive before you were assigned to this crew?" I ask, given how she drives combined with her daredevil nature that I believe I've only scratched the surface on, she was probably a light tank driver.

{M41 Walker Bulldog. I switched over from team two.}

Go figure, a speed demon.

"Sako, slow us down a little, I want to get back in these woods so we can fire at the road."

{Confirmed, forward slow, left turn on your mark.}

The tank rocks forward on the suspension as it slows down, causing all inside to lean back, inclined myself, until my back touches the cold turret wall.

"Driver, hard left." I order once we reach an open spot in the hedgerow, we'll still have to climb over the low stone wall, but it's nothing for the Panther. Sako locks the left track and applies power to the right track, causing us to swing left. Her gear changes are smooth, her handling of the vehicle flawless through hours of practice. She's a good driver, though I will admit with her aggressive driving style I'm worried about breaking the final drives, which was a huge problem during the Second World War.

I push that thought out of my head when we reach the spot I want. "Driver, halt. Pivot hard left."

Sako fully stops the vehicle, then I hear the engine rev up and we turn left, the left track moving in reverse while the right track moves forward, causing the tank to turn in place without having to worry about throwing a track. We rotate ninety degrees, and I swing my hatch open when we halt.

"Sako, Tama, dismount and camouflage the front so we can still engage. Cut limbs and bushes."

The engine shuts off, and they scramble out their respective hatches, using whatever they can find to cut branches off the nearby trees. The entire camouflaging process takes roughly ten minutes, halfway through which I watch Naomi's Firefly rumble down the road and into the woods, out of sight from my position. It's another five minutes before I hear the sound of multiple Sherman's coming up the road, followed by Megumi transferring the command radio to my headset.

{Naomi here, I have eyes on the convoy. Awaiting permission to fire.}

I swing my hatch overhead so it's in the 'open protected' position, allowing me to still observe through my binoculars while being protected from wood splinters and the like.

"Roger that Naomi, stand by. Fire on my command."

{Acknowledged.}

I watch the first Sherman emerge from the hedgerows, then the second, third, and Kay's 'easy eight', followed close behind by the last two.

"Naomi, engage the lead tank. I'm going to cut the head off the snake. You may fire when ready."

{Roger that, firing.}

I hear the thunder of the seventeen pounder, and watch the lead tank stop dead it its tracks, a white flag flapping above the turret.

"Gunner, target the fourth tank, it's the biggest threat to us."

Tetsuki turns the turret left slightly, then depresses the gun a little.

{On target!}

"Fire."

I watch the shell scream out and hit Kay's Sherman in the side of the turret, causing a little white flag to pop out of the turret roof, signifying the vehicle is incapacitated.

Tama, now back in her position cradling the next round in her arms, wastes no time getting the next round in the breech and grabbing the next one.

{Gun loaded!}

Naomi's Firefly knocks out another of the Shermans when it tries to go off-road and gets bogged down in the thick mud.

"Engage at will, leave nothing standing!" I order before Tetsuki lines up on the rear Sherman and fires, knocking the right track off and rendering it immobile.

The other Shermans remain in place, but bring their guns to bear on us, despite the fact that the low-velocity 75mm doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell at knocking us out from the front at this distance. Nonetheless, they open fire with both the main cannons and the coaxial MG's, raking the woods surrounding us with tracers while they try to locate the well-camouflaged tank. Eventually they find us when Tetsuki fires again, but the shell bounces off the turret roof of a Sherman and goes flying harmlessly off into the sky.

Then all the guns point straight at us, and I swear I can see down the barrel of every single one as the light at the other end disappears when a shell is shoved into the breech.

"Sako start the engine, I think it's time to come out and play."

Her response is lost to me when a shell strikes the front hull and bounces off, making an almost comical 'twang!'.

Then all hell breaks loose, having located us, the Shermans start hammering us with AP shells, despite the fact that it won't do anything but scratch the paintwork a little.

I continue watching them fruitlessly fire at us in hopes of doing _something_ , and I actually begin to laugh while watching through my binoculars.

That is, until a shell strikes the turret roof, bounces off, and hits the hatch cover, knocking it out from mere inches above my head.

"JESUS CHRIST!" I yell as I duck instinctively, my headset gets ripped off my head and falls to the end of the wire forcing me to grab it and put it back on, though the fact that I _can_ duck means I'm still alive. "Okay! Enough fucking around, just shoot them!"

The adrenaline is really pumping now, and things go by in a blur until all the opposing Shermans are confirmed inoperable, only then does it go away while we advance to the disabled tanks. I still sit in my seat, with my head leaned back against the turret wall and my eyes closed.

{Hey Chris, you alright? Your head's bleeding.}

I don't move, I just sit as I was, breathing deeply to calm myself.

"I think I'm alright. I damn near shit myself though."

{What happened?}

I feel a warm fluid on my head that runs down my temples and face, I don't even need to know what it is.

"A shell hit my hatch, probably ripped it off."

We slow to a stop at the crossroads, where the other crews have already gathered, and only then do I pull myself up out of my cupola, cutting my left hand on the jagged surface of what used to be my hatch cover.

The adrenaline has mostly worn off by now, and _damn_ my head hurts. I have a feeling I know why, but I stay silent while I climb down, ignoring the blood on my face when it starts to soak into my shirt collar.

Once I'm off the tank I sit down on the front left mud guard and lean back against the front slope, closing my eyes once I'm reclined.

Finally I hear someone yell from the group of tankers milling about. "Medic! Someone get the medical crew! Chris is bleeding!"

All the talking stops immediately, and I can hear someone Megumi talking into the radio inside the Panther while everyone runs over. I feel someone latch onto my arm, and open my eyes to find Kay standing next to me, her tankery uniform covered in mud. "Chris, what happened?"

"A shell ricocheted off the turret roof and hit my hatch cover. I'm alright, it's probably just some small shrapnel."

Through all the mumbling I can hear the siren of the medical crew coming up the road, but Kay squeezing my arm brings my attention back to her. "You alright in the head? I don't know about you, but I'm pretty shaken."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It scared the hell out of me when it first happened, but that was a one-in-a-million shot, and I'm _not_ stopping Sensha-Do. You letting me into the team is the best thing I've done since I discovered training manuals." I pause, a smug grin on my face. "By the way, how'd I do?"

Kay gawks at me for a minute before she bursts out laughing. "You did _great_! That ambush was textbook and your camouflage was amazing! You'll definitely be our MVP during any matches against other schools!"

The school ambulance comes into view, and the crowd moves to either side to let it through, moving back onto the road once it parks next to the Panther. The adults inside quickly usher me onto a stretcher despite my constant protests and load me into the back.

Before they close the doors I point at Kay. "I'll be home for dinner, so save me some food."

She nods, and steps back, allowing the paramedics to close the doors and jump in, driving back down the road as the 'Dragon Wagons' drive in the opposite direction towards the tanks.

* * *

As luck would have it, my doctor has a good sense of humor, combined with his experience he has me in stitches before the hour is over, in both senses of the word. There was some small shrapnel in my scalp, but nothing too serious other than a couple small pencil-lead-sized pieces of metal embedded in my scalp, which the doctor easily stitched up in minutes. I'm then checked for any other injuries such as a concussion before I'm released, and I head straight to the garage, where crews are tirelessly working on getting their vehicles back in running order.

Someone notices me walk in, and raises the alarm, causing almost everyone to immediately drop what they're doing and rush over, flooding me with questions.

"Listen up!" I yell, demanding silence so I can be heard and holding my hands out to give myself some room to breathe. "I've got some stitches, but otherwise I'm fine." A collective sigh of relief ripples through the crowd, and everyone slowly meanders back to their tanks while Kay walks up to me, giving me a bear hug that makes it hard to breathe.

"I was so worried about you!"

I try my best to wrench myself out of her grip, but I might as well not be trying, she's stronger than I am.

"Kay…can't…breathe!" I manage to squeak out as I see stars on the edge of my vision. She loosens her grip, allowing me precious oxygen while she still gets the satisfaction of hugging me.

"I'll be okay in a few weeks, I've just got some scattered stitches."

She finally releases me, and grabs my wrist before leading me to the equipment storage, where tons of helmets, searchlights, and countless other parts sit neatly organized on shelves that reach clear to the ceiling ten feet above.

"We're making helmets mandatory for commanders that fight turned out, so find one that fits nice and snug, and a pair of goggles too."

I just nod and start trying on the steel helmets while Kay heads to another row of shelves to get something she claims will help my Panther's performance in battle. After a grueling twenty minutes of trying on helmets I find one that fits good enough, and thankfully the process of picking goggles is much shorter, taking me maybe thirty seconds to find a snug pair.

"Yo Kay! I'm done over here!" I call out in an effort to locate her, and I hear the squeaking of a cart shortly after. Kay pushes a flatbed cart around the corner at the far end, two wooden crates sit on it, and she's obviously struggling.

"I got what I was looking for!" She grunts back, pushing the very squeaky cart past me towards the door.

I follow her out, past the Shermans to my Panther, where Tama and Sako are manhandling a new hatch cover into its housing.

"Hey girls, how's the repairs going?" I ask nonchalantly, my helmet tucked under my left arm.

They ease the hatch down into its housing and Tama holds it in place while Sako secures the mechanism inside the tank. "It's going great! We're just about finished, after this we just have to repaint the scratches and put the camouflage kit on." Tama grunts back, even from where I'm standing I can see the sweat run down her face.

I'm about to offer help, but I hear Sako call out from inside that the mechanism should be in place. Tama releases the heavy hatch cover and jumps off the side of the tank, landing next to me as Sako swings the hatch over her head and lowers it, then raises it again and swings it off to one side. "It's fixed!"

Kay and I leave them to paint and open the first of the two crates on the cart.

"A periscope?" I give her a quizzical look after seeing the contents.

"It's also a coincidence rangefinder." Kay grins while she lifts the heavy apparatus and hands it to me, motioning for me to put it up on the engine deck before grabbing the mount for it.

I do as instructed and haul myself up onto the engine deck, followed by Kay with the mount in one hand, the entire time I'm thinking ' _how the hell is this going to help?'_ , and my question is quickly answered when Kay secures the mount to my cupola, and begins explaining how a coincidence rangefinder works while she seats the equipment in the mount.

"It uses a predetermined formula to calculate range. When you turn the knob on the right eyepiece it changes the elevation of that eyepiece. When the right image sits atop the left image then you read the range on the display. If you want to just observe then dial it to zero."

I try to look at what she's pointing at, but since she's in the way it's extremely difficult, so I usually just end up staring at the back of her head.

"There! Give it a try."

She climbs out, and I ease myself down, putting my eyes to the two lenses.

"Okay, so I turn…..this knob?" I point to it quizzically, and receive a grunt in response.

I could best describe the periscope as a pair of antennae that stick up roughly two feet above my cupola, with a pair of eyepieces for viewing with a simple four-digit mechanical tumbler that goes up to 9,999, even though I'll likely never be able to see that far.

I look through the eyepieces and turn the knob, and just as Kay described it the right image raises. I adjust it so the picture is sitting on top of the left one and pull my head back to look at the range.

"Fifty meters?"

"Let's double-check using this modern rangefinder." Kay pulls a small handheld rangefinder from her pocket (why she has it I have no idea) and points it at the same wall on the opposite end of the courtyard. "Ehhh, yeah. I'm getting fifty five, but close enough."

I hang my helmet on a hook next to me, and turn the knob on the rangefinder so it reads zero before climbing out. "What's five meters to a high-velocity gun, right?"

"Exactly, you won't be giving exact ranges in combat anyways, only in ambush situations."

I hop off the side, and walk over to the second crate. "So what's in here?"

"Infrared night vision system, it'll only work at night, so we'll keep it boxed up until we practice night combat."

I grin and nod. Night vision? When everyone else just has searchlights? I'm going to do some serious damage with that. To think of it….I remember seeing one on my trips with dad, it was just for display and didn't actually work, but it was still cool.

"That….could be fun." I admit, turning away from the crate, back towards the Panther. "Well, I'm going to head home. I'll see you when you get back."

"Okay! Be safe!" Kay flashes me a thumbs up before I turn left and walk out, leaving the hangar with an extremely fatigued feeling.

* * *

Nothing really noteworthy happened for the rest of the day, my new parents freaked out when they saw the stitches, but they quickly calmed down and let me retire to bed for the day. Even though it was only 1600 hours.

* * *

I'm awoken in the early morning by a searing, almost eye-watering pain in my leg that I'm all too used to. With how much it hurts one would think something is very wrong, but you'd be wrong, it's the phantom pain that I experience daily if I forget my medication. It always comes back, despite time, physical therapy, and my frustrations with relying on a simple pill to be able to focus on life.

I sit up and swivel around so my head is at the foot of my cot, reaching down I grab the lid of my footlocker and pull it open, holding it open with my left arm while I dig around inside the box for the pill bottle I desperately need right now.

' _Come on...come on… that's not it…. there it is!'_

I grab the red-capped pill bottle, and start to pull it out of the box, but I fumble it and it ends up rolling across the floor.

"Shit!" I hiss, trying to be quiet so I don't wake up Kay, who is snoring softly in her bed across the room.

I grumble to myself while I shift to the bedside, and start to ease myself to the floor. I get off of the cot, and I'm halfway to the floor when my cot flips over on top of me, causing me to come crashing to the floor right on my tailbone.

I most certainly did _not_ yelp.

But the loud thud did wake Kay up, and she sits up to look at me.

"You alright?"

I whimper a little before I start crawling across the floor, feeling around for the pill bottle. "Fuckin' leg is flaring up and I dropped the bottle."

She gets up and walks to the door before turning on the lights, causing me to blink a few times from the sudden light before I locate the pill bottle under her bed. "There." I point at it, still laying on my stomach in the middle of the floor.

Kay walks over to her bedside and grabs the small orange bottle before passing it to me. I prop myself up on my elbows and unscrew the cap before dumping two of the red pills into my palm, then down them both dry and cap the bottle.

"Aren't you supposed to only take one of those?" Kay asks while she flips my cot back onto its feet.

"One if it's uncomfortable, two if it's hurting like hell. What time is it?"

"Oh-four-fifteen."

Kay offers me a hand up, and I gladly take it, hopping gently on my leg to get my balance centered before I sit down. "Well, I might as well get up. My alarm goes off in fifteen."

"You….do know it's a weekday right?"

I nod while I start to put on my prosthetic. "All the more reason. I usually go to the gym early in the morning."

She stares at me in disbelief for a second, but when I continue getting ready she shakes her head and starts getting ready herself. "Well, we've gotta get you enrolled, so you've got three hours from now. I might as well go with you so I can see your workout."

"Well that works out perfectly. It's arms and chest day. You can spot me."

"But what about your stitches?"

"What about them? They're on my head, and this goddess looking body doesn't come easy."

I slip on a t-shirt and start putting on my cargo pants before Kay sighs.

"Just don't hurt yourself."

* * *

 **[A/N]: I'd like to thank y'all for the sudden support for my writing! I have a two more chapters (almost) ready to upload, so keep an eye out for those!**

 **That is all, and as always, I hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4: lessons learned, family time

**[A/N]: Here's Chapter four! Serious shout out to Goodalwayswins98 for pointing out some major plot holes, I owe you one.**

 **Anyways, as always, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, and chapter five should be posted within the week!**

* * *

"Push it! Come on! Flank speed!" I yell at Sako as we tear down the road in the last hours of daylight. It's been four weeks since I was adopted by Kay, and since then I've been enrolled in Saunders, trained in all positions of my tank except for the driver's, and replaced the final drives after they broke.

Now we're practicing night combat, which means for the first time I get to use the night vision system provided to me.

It's a classic scenario for training the newest crews for night combat: my Panther faces four Shermans on our own, and though they have the numbers advantage they don't have any night vision, they only have spotlights that are attached to the turret roof of their vehicles, which makes it incredibly easy to spot them should they turn the white lights on.

We get a five minute head start to get into position, and I plan to make full use of it, along with the strengthened final drives.

{Disengaging the speed governor!}

I'm slightly reluctant in pushing the newly fixed final drives so hard, but I've got to know how far I can push it in case a match depends on it.

Sako's light tank driver skills really come in handy, because even doing forty five miles an hour she keeps the tank on the road in the low-light conditions, and we're at our position in three minutes, which will leave the platoon of rookies with a good ten minute drive, giving us plenty of time to camouflage the tank for an ambush, which I've proven my love for.

The camouflage kit that Tama installed helps greatly, because it adds a base layer of false foliage that is attached to the tank, so we just have to add local foliage to blend in.

We do just that, and sit on the edge of a tree line so I can see with the Vampir system attached to my commander's cupola.

It lights up the moonless night like it's daylight, and I can see the 'kill zone' without issue.

You might think that aiming the gun at a target in the dark would be a difficult endeavor with no night vision, but we overcame that problem with a simple fix: We fixed an infrared lamp to the back of the recoil guard that folds up out of the way to enable the gun to be loaded. It's a simple system, I watch the narrow beam projected out the gun barrel and give directions until it's on target, then I give the order to fire. The lamp is folded out of the way, the gun is loaded, and Tetsuki fires as soon as Tama says she's clear. We'd practiced it on the range, and since the range of the system is only roughly six hundred meters there's no need for range adjustments.

"How's it look?" Tetsuki asks in a low whisper while I watch through the eyepiece.

"Nothing so far, fold that lamp down and turn it on."

I hear a shuffling inside the tank, and something hard taps my leg repeatedly. "Chris, put your helmet on. We're in the field now, and you don't need another round of stitches."

"If I get hit like this then the helmet isn't going to save me."

Tama hits me on the thigh a little harder with the helmet. "I know, but it's the thought that counts, so put the damn thing on."

"Oh for the love of…. _Fine_ , just get ready."

I take the helmet and put it on my head before fastening the chin strap and placing the goggles over my eyes.

"Been ready, let them come."

I sit staring through the eyepiece for at least half an hour before I finally hear the sound of the Shermans approaching.

"Here they come. Load it, standby to fire on my command."

The infrared beam from the gun lamp disappears, and I hear the gun breech close.

"Gun loaded."

I watch the first three Shermans enter the open area and gently lay my foot on Tetsuki's back. Then the fourth Sherman comes into view and I tap my toes in between her shoulder blades, giving her the cue to fire.

And nothing happens.

"Misfire!" Tetsuki yells as she grabs the recocking lever for the firing pin and pulls it back before pulling the manual trigger again.

This time the gun fires, and I see the shell hit behind the rear tank in the column.

"Start the engine! Lamp down!"

The lamp is lowered to illuminate the trajectory of the gun as Sako starts the warm engine and I start giving directions to Tetsuki as the column speeds up.

"Right twenty, up three!"

The minute change puts the gun ready to fire on the road soon to be occupied by the lead tank.

"Load it!"

Once again I hear the breech close as the engine turns over and roars to life.

{Clear!}

" _Fire!"_

This time Tetsuki hits the lead tank smack in the engine, and it grinds to a halt before the tank behind it rearends it.

"Load it! Left two degrees!"

I don't even need the infrared lamp for this shot, and once Tama loads the gun Tetsuki fires, sending the next round directly into the second Sherman.

"Lamp down!"

The lamp is lowered, but I don't need it, the rearmost tank in the column turns on its spotlight.

"Lamp up! Target that spotlight!"

The spotlight settles on us, and I duck down into the hatch as a shell hits our front hull and goes whistling into the sky over my head.

Tetsuki finds the tank and dispatches it while the remaining tanks back into the ditch on the other side of the road, getting hull-down from us.

The fourth Sherman proves to be difficult, and Tetsuki exchanges several rounds with it before she finally scores a solid hit on the gun mantlet, rendering the tank out of battle.

"Vehicle destroyed! Good work everyone, I think they've learned some-"

*TWANG!*

The unexpected impact of a shell knocks me down into the turret, and when I get back up to my infrared sight I find the white flag flying on top of our turret.

"Who the hell…?"

I look through the sight, and the only thing I need to see is Naomi's Firefly peeking around the corner of the hedgerow, its seventeen pounder gun smoking as I stare down the barrel.

"We're out. Naomi just put us in our place."

{Awww! We were doing so well too!}

"Megumi, give me the company net on my handset."

{Roger.}

I wait a second before speaking into the microphone.

"Panther reporting status inoperable. Training session over."

Kay is the one to respond. {Okay! All crews hold the fort, the Dragon Wagon's are on the way!}

I relax and remove my helmet, placing it on my lap when I sit down.

"Good job everyone, that was damn near flawless aside from that misfire at the beginning, and that's not anyone's fault."

There's an exchange of high-fives and we do our post-training briefing on what we could have done better while we wait for the recovery vehicles, and half an hour later we're back in the garage.

* * *

"I should have known you three were up to something!" I yell, pointing an accusing finger at Kay, Arisa, and Naomi.

"I don't know what you're talking about, you got tunnel vision~!" Naomi sings, her gum showing in the corner of her smile.

"I call bullshit. I was told I would be fighting four Shermans sporting low velocity seventy five millimeter guns. Instead I knock out four Shermans only to be smacked in the face by a seventeen pounder."

"Force numbers can sometimes be inaccurate, we wanted to see how you'd do. Also, just because you have good armor doesn't mean you are invincible, use your armor more like a shield, you should rely upon making the enemy miss or not know where you are. So use cover, concealment, and speed instead of depending on your armor. Your armor won't save you if we're up against someone like Pravda or Black Forest Peak."

So I failed a test, great. Though, I do see her points, we did start celebrating before we were certain the area was clear.

"Understood. Well, I'm going to go see if we can get the Panther up and running before morning."

I start to walk away, but Kay jogs up beside me and hugs me across the shoulders. "You did good though, I'm going to make you part of our finals team. Just a reminder, we ship off in two days, so get plenty of rest and make sure all your stuff is packed."

"You got it. I appreciate the support and I won't let the team down."

She claps me on the back, making the spot sting. "I know you won't, you've done far too well to mess up!"

She hugs me again before running off to make sure the other Shermans get fixed in time for our embarkation.

I roll my shoulders a few times before turning to the Panther and climbing up the front slope.

"What did the damage look like?" I ask Tama, who is elbow-deep in the engine compartment.

"It's not bad. The shell that knocked us out lodged in the lower glacis. It's sitting over by the toolkit. I'm just checking the engine, and Sako is checking the transmission."

She pulls out the oil dipstick while talking, checking the level of the golden liquid before returning the metal rod to its place.

"Everything here is good, we just need to clean the main gun."

"Oh joy, my favorite part." I say sarcastically before I drop down into the hatch and depress the gun to its full declination of negative eight degrees. I can hear Sako giving the transmission a piece of her mind while she works on it.

"Geez Sako, you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"Yep! She's actually the one I got my colorful vocabulary from." She grunts back as she tightens a bolt with a crescent wrench.

"Oh, okay. Well we're about to clean the gun, so if you're done we could use your help."

"I've still gotta top off the transmission fluid, so I might be done in time, but no guarantees."

"Alright."

I climb out to find the others assembling the cleaning staff.

"Let's get this done, I have something I need to do." I say while I heft the heavy wire brush and screw it into the end.

We spend the next five minutes ensuring the barrel is clean, and once we're done everyone except myself heads home, I've got something I need to do, and now is the best time to do it.

I confidently lower myself into the driver's seat and grasp the controls before starting the engine and revving it a few times. Then I grab the gearshift and depress the clutch before shoving the transmission into first gear and easing forward out of the garage.

Once the garage doors are out of my peripheral vision I shift into second and turn the lights on, lighting up the courtyard in front of me as I rumble towards the slowly opening gate.

Thankfully the gate is open by the time I reach it, and I turn onto the main road of town.

Five minutes later I stop in the parking lot of a twenty-four hour cafe and turn the engine off before heading inside.

"Well if it isn't Christina! You need the usual?" The shop owner calls to me from behind the counter.

"Hey Margaret, yes please."

The ginger-haired woman sets to making me a coffee while she talks. "It's been awhile since I last saw you. Judging from that uniform and the tank you rode up in, I'm going to guess someone from Saunders adopted you. Who's the savior?"

"Observant as always. It's actually Kay, the Sensha-Do team one commander."

She nearly drops the cup of espresso she's carrying and gawks at me for a second. "You're kidding right?"

"Nope. Her and I head to the gym every morning, so I've gotta go get this done before I meet her there."

"Okay, here's your espresso, this one's on the house. I'll go get the flowers from the garden."

She puts the cup on the counter and heads into the back room while I relax on a stool, downing most of the drink before she comes back with a bundle of flowers in each hand. "Here you are, don't worry about paying me back, I was getting ready to trim them and throw them away. They'll get use now."

I take the two bouquets of roses and drain the last of the coffee before throwing the cup in the garbage. "Thank you so much. It's going to be awhile before I see you again, we set sail in two days."

"Go get 'em for me, I'll be watching every match!"

"Heheh, will do. You take care."

I walk out to the Panther and place the flowers on the floor behind the driver's seat before starting up and driving into the countryside, taking a thin dirt road up a hill before stopping at the crest where it overlooks the town.

By now things are running on autopilot. I grab the flowers and carefully hoist myself out of the hatch before sliding down the front slope and walking to the only tree on the hilltop. On the downhill slope of the tree sits two white crosses, each engraved with a name and a pair of dates.

"Hey mom, hey dad. I figured I should come visit you before we set sail."

Yeah, I talk to my dead parents when I visit their graves. Is that weird?

"I finally got adopted a couple weeks ago. The family is actually rather nice, and I even get to go participate in Sensha-Do….my crew can be a handful at times, but they're great under pressure."

I place the flowers at the base of each cross and sit down next to them, looking out over the lights of the town.

"Even though I love Kay like a sister, and the parents are outstanding, I can't help but feel like I'm replacing you guys…."

I don't even try to hold back the tears when they build up in my eyes, I just let them flow down my cheeks.

"I miss you."

I sit there for around half an hour, sharing my adventures before a warm summer breeze blows through for a few seconds, and I swear I can hear someone say something that sounds like 'strong'. To anyone else this wouldn't have much meaning, but my dad was always telling me to be strong whenever things got difficult.

"Got it pops…just watch my back out there for me eh?" I sniffle, wiping my eyes on my sleeve before checking my watch. "Well, I've gotta go. Kay should be waking up right around now. I'll be back in a few months."

I get up and take one last look at the graves before starting towards the Panther. It's hard to see past the headlights, but I do notice movement towards the engine deck.

"Who's there?! Identify yourself!" I yell, climbing up the front slope and grabbing the entrenching tool off the side of the tank. I see a familiar head capped with blonde hair poke out from behind the turret. "Take it easy, it's just me."

I lower the shovel and relax. "Kay? What are you doing here?"

She stands up and steps onto the turret. "I would ask you the same question but I already know the answer. I'm sorry for riding along and not letting you know."

"You…heard all that?"

"Yeah, sorry…I saw you pulling out of the garage and was curious about where you were going. I didn't know…" she rubs her left forearm with her other hand, and looks at her feet. I put the entrenching tool back and step up onto the turret with her.

"I'm not mad, I was going to take you here eventually, and I should be the one apologizing for not telling you what I was doing." I hug her gently, though it's really too warm and humid to be making any sort of contact.

"You know, my dad agreed to adopt you because he knew your dad from the army. He told me your dad's unit was stationed with his unit."

My heart leaps into my throat. "H-he knew my parents?"

"Yeah. He said your dad was always bragging about how well you were following in his footsteps regarding his obsession with older tanks."

I smile, and invite Key to sit on the turret with me. "Yeah, he was always just as excited to go to the tank museum as I was."

Kay sits down opposite of the gun from me, and we both stare out over the Nagasaki lights. "Hey… if you don't mind me asking, what did your dad do in the marines?" She asks.

"He was an artilleryman. I've got a picture of him and his crew posing on their howitzer, it's in my footlocker." I pause, thinking back to my parents. "I think that's one reason Mom fell for him, he was a whiz with math. I guess it was a case of opposites attract? She was never really good at math, and didn't much care for tanks, but she was always good at understanding people."

Sadly, that seems to kill the conversation, so we just stare out over the city lights for a good ten minutes before Kay stands up and stretches. "Well, should we head home? We've got a ton of packing to do tomorrow."

I close my eyes and sigh before standing up. "Yeah, I'll drive."


	5. Chapter 5: Embarkation, backstory

_In the early hours of morning I jog up the mountain road, thick woods on either side make this road seem kinda spooky in the twilight, but I've always considered that more motivation to try harder. My boots pound out a rhythm in the gravel, one footfall sounding heavier than the other. I'm still getting used to the prosthetic, but that's no excuse to laze around and sacrifice months of effort just trying to get mobile again._

 _Halfway to the summit I hear a familiar sound behind me: a synchronized pounding of boots on the gravel. I don't need to look behind me to know who it is. I chose this hill specifically because it's the hill my dad used to do PT on, it's a group of U.S marines doing their morning march, and I move to the ditch as a courtesy._

 _Much to my surprise they don't pass me, instead the two in the front slow down to match my pace, and one of them looks at me before speaking in broken Japanese. "Good morning! What brings you to this lovely hill?"_

 _His Japanese is almost cringe worthy, so I respond in English. "Same reason as you guys, trying to stay in shape."_

 _He smiles before moving over. "Well then get on up here out of that ditch! You're welcome to join us so long as you slow down and let us pull ahead at the bottom."_

 _I smile back and jump up out of the ditch, stumbling slightly before resuming my normal pace. "Thanks. If you guys don't mind me asking, what unit are you guys from? My dad used to be stationed here, hence why I know this hill."_

 _He seems reluctant to answer, so the other man responds with a heavy Texan accent. "Bravo company, gun battery Charlie. Who was your dad? We might have known him."_

 _I stumble a bit before catching myself and resuming pace. "Staff Sergeant Lewiston."_

 _They both take on a remorseful look, and one of them nods. "Yeah… we knew him."_

* * *

I awake to my phone buzzing under my head, and quickly answer the phone call.

"Hello?" I mumble sleepily, sitting up on my cot.

{Hey Chris! We're loading up the Panther's extra equipment, you want us to include this snow equipment?}

"Uhhh, sure. We might need it. I'll be there in a little bit, twenty or thirty minutes maybe."

{Okay! Don't forget to wear your parade uniform!}

"Got it Sako, bye."

I hang up the phone before swiveling in bed and opening my footlocker for my morning medications.

"Oi Kay! Wake up! It's time to get dressed!" I yell at the snoring blonde across the room. She turns over, sleepily muttering something about chicken fried steak before her snoring resumes.

Unable to waste time getting dressed before waking her up I grab an empty baseball-sized pill bottle and throw it at her, it glances off her head and slams into the wall with a bang.

"Ow! What was that for?!" She yells, sitting up and rubbing the spot on her head.

"Up and at 'em, time to get dressed and finish packing. Sorry about that, but we've gotta hurry, the parade is in an hour and you still need to finish packing your clothes."

Her eyes go wide and she throws the covers off before bolting out of bed and running to her dresser. "What have I already packed?!"

"Casual clothes, bathing suit, and winter clothes." I respond, sitting up and grabbing my prosthetic from beside my bed. "So that leaves your school uniforms and any jackets you want to bring along."

"Thanks Chris, I'd be in deep trouble if you hadn't woken me up."

I wave her off while adjusting the prosthetic. "Eh don't mention it. I'm just doing what's right."

I finally get the prosthetic fitted correctly and flip open the lid of my valuables footlocker before grabbing the half dozen pill bottles and placing the correct number of each pill in my palm.

"Hey, why do you wear jeans with your parade uniform? Most of the other commanders wear the shorts." Kay asks me while she puts an armful of school uniforms into a cardboard box.

I point at my prosthetic before standing up. "I get a ton of looks when people see my prosthetic. I hate it, it's that look of 'oh you poor thing' and it irks the shit out of me." I talk while I unscrew the cap on a brand new canteen bought for me by Kay before throwing the pills in my mouth and washing them down.

"That's understandable, but you really could do well to get some sun on those legs. If you get any more pale I think you might start to turn transparent."

"I'll take that into consideration next time I go to the beach." I chortle, grabbing my parade uniform off the coat hangers in the closet. I start changing right there, and while I do have some trouble with the jeans I'm still dressed before Kay is finished packing.

"Come on, hurry up, you just need your jacket." I hustle her while I break down my cot and place the pieces in my footlockers, making it easier to transport.

"I'm ready, do you need help?" I ask, slipping on the leather jacket associated with my uniform.

"Not really, could you start loading your stuff in the truck?"

"Sure! Let me know if you need help."

I heft one of the large metal footlockers and carry it out of the bedroom, down the hall, and place it at the top of the stairs before returning and grabbing another. Once all of my stuff is staged at the top of the stairs I start carrying it down the stairs and outside, into the back of a surplus 'deuce and a half'. Walking back inside I start grabbing the sealed cardboard boxes and carrying them out while Kay gets dressed in her uniform.

* * *

Once all our stuff is loaded I finally get the chance to brush my hair before we load up in the truck and our dad drives us to the garage and hands the keys over to one of the kids from the automotive club. Thankfully we get there early, so I have time to make sure the Panther's fluids are topped off before I notice the new white lettering on the barrel of the Panther's gun.

 _Unicorn_

Kay notices me staring at it and throws an arm over my shoulder. "I figured it was a suitable name. I mean, we usually run nothing but Shermans, so a Panther? Mark my words you're gonna be a legend by the end of the year. Maybe we'll even get to stick it to Black Forest Peak in the finals. Heh, that ought to rile them up."

I finally pry my eyes from the new tank name and raise an eyebrow at her. "Why's that?"

"Well, we won it in a bet against them. If we lost we were going to have to give them Naomi's firefly, and if they lost they had to give us a Panther. The bet was between the two JROTC teams in cold-war era tanks, since we were no competition against their competition team with our low-velocity guns. Obviously our team won, so we got your Panther. You should ask Sako about it next time you get the chance, she was part of the team for a while."

She checks her watch before removing her arm from my shoulder. "Okay! Let's mount up and get staged!" She yells over all the other commotion in the garage.

The sound of conversation disappears, replaced by the sound of boots on concrete while everyone runs to their tanks, myself included.

I'm starting to scramble up the front slope when Tama offers a helping hand. "Need a lift?"

"Yes please." I grab her hand, and she hauls me up onto the turret before climbing into her hatch on the rear of the turret. Further down the line the Shermans begin starting up, and as I'm climbing down into my cupola I can hear the whine of the inertial starter spinning louder and louder.

"Alright, who's ready to go make Saunders proud?" I ask, looking down into the crew compartment.

" _We are_!" My crew answers back in unison.

"Excellent. Let's do it."

The engine turns over, belching a cloud of smoke behind us for a minute before it settles to an idle. "Kay is up front, we're right behind her." I explain, watching my blonde sister climb up onto her Sherman.

{I'm putting the command net on your headset Chris.}

"Roger, 'ppreciate it."

Kay's voice suddenly rings out in my headset. {Okay! Myself and Chris are first, then Naomi and Arisa! The rest of you know your spots! Form a nice and orderly file at the gate with the trucks in the center of the convoy! Kay out!}

"I hate it when people 'out' me…" I grumble, referring to my time spent online, using a radio mod for 'extra realism'. I must have accidentally cued my microphone, because Tetsuki's quiet voice rings out through my headset next.

{You too huh? Noobs on acre drive me batty.}

"Eh? You play arma as well?"

{Yes, I have just short of two thousand hours on it.}

"Hey me too! Hold up. Driver, forward slow."

Sako eases the tank out the garage doors and falls in line behind Kay's Sherman before stopping by the gate.

"Anyways, do you play with a group?"

{No I don't, I've never found anyone that wants to team up, other than large simulation groups.}

"Oh, I play with a group of Americans. They talk a lot of trash but they're a fun bunch to hang around with."

{There's only one problem with that… My English is terrible…}

"No problem! English was my first language, so I can translate for you!"

{EH?! But your Japanese is so good!} Megumi yells through the intercom.

"I was taught both at the same time, so I'm fluent in both."

{Oh, that's cool. Do you know any other languages?} Sako asks, revving the engine impatiently.

"Ehhh, I know a little German from a girl at the orphanage, but not hardly enough to hold a conversation."

{Hey that's still pretty cool, is she still there?}

"I think so. Her shyness always proved to be a bit of a deal breaker when people were looking for someone to adopt."

{That sucks, what's her name?}

"Serena Kreuger, her mother was German and her dad was Japanese. Apparently they divorced and her dad drank himself to death. Her mother didn't want anything to do with her and moved back to Germany."

{That's terrible!} Tetsuki gasps.

"She's been there ever since she was eight, she's sixteen now."

{...I'm going to make a phone call real quick.}

Tama opens the loader's hatch and climbs out, standing on the engine deck while she talks to someone on her phone. A few minutes later she climbs back in and closes the hatch, just as Kay broadcasts on the command network.

{Okay! Let's go, Sensha-Do!}

I roll my eyes as her tank starts to move out the gate and turns right on the road,

"Follow Kay, Sako."

{Advancing.}

We slowly start rumbling forward, and when we turn onto the road I find the sidewalks packed with cheering people.

"Oh god that's a lot of people…" I mutter, adjusting my posture.

{Just smile and wave, the parade route isn't very long.} Tama pats me reassuringly on the knee.

"O-okay, I can do that."

{This is hilarious, you'll face down hard odds in Sensha-Do but you're scared of a crowd?}

"Tactics are simple, people are complicated." I defend, putting on my best smile for the crowd.

{How are you holding up back there Chris?} Kay asks, looking over her shoulder.

"I'm a little nervous, but I'll live."

{They're just wishing us good luck. We'll be out of the crowd in a few blocks.}

"Roger that!"

We continue down the road for two blocks before turning onto Main Street, and another block down I hear a familiar voice.

"Chris! Chris!"

I look over to find Serena running up to the tank, a small wooden box held out in one hand.

I balance on the edge of my cupola and lean down, accepting the polished maple box. Straightening back up I open the lid to find the one thing I can't believe I had forgotten: my father's service pistol. I snap the lid shut and latch it before holding it close with my left arm and saluting her. "Thank you Serena! I owe you one!"

"Damn straight you do! Go get 'em!" She yells back in English before running back to the sidewalk, where the rest of the older orphans are. I wave to them all before ducking down into my hatch and placing the case in the map case on the turret wall.

{What's that Chris?} Tetsuki asks, sitting in her seat facing towards me.

"Something very precious to me. I'll show you once we're on the carrier."

I stand back up and continue waving at the diminishing crowd, smiling the entire way to the docks, where there's a bit of a traffic jam getting on the ship.

* * *

We end up waiting in the same spot for an hour before I notice a small group of men dressed in American MARPAT camouflage approaching my tank.

"Well hello there little lady! Congratulations on getting out of the orphanage!" The lead marine yells in English, and upon hearing his voice I haul myself out of the tank and jump down into his waiting arms.

"Hello Lieutenant Hartman! It's been awhile since I last saw you!"

He ruffles my hair and sets me down before giving me a hug. "Indeed it has. The boys and I brought some send off gifts for you, since you'll be going to other ports."

"You guys didn't have to…" I whine, but the lieutenant puts a finger to my lips.

"Yes we did. You're a good kid and your father would haunt us for the rest of our lives if we didn't make sure you stayed safe."

I groan but give in, looking to the sky for a second before nodding. "Alright, whatd'ya got?"

He smiles, and the Sergeant behind him removes a MARPAT backpack from his shoulder and hands it to me.

"First off, school backpack." The lieutenant grins and motions that there's more inside.

I unzip the top to find a personal first aid kit on top.

"Don't think we didn't hear about your little incident a few weeks ago." He explains.

I stick my tongue out at him before digging deeper into the bag and pulling out a mess of webbing.

"That's a harness for the shoulder holster that's in there too. It should fit under your jacket without any problems. The holster is custom made to hold your father's pistol."

I nod before putting the webbing back in and digging even further, pulling out a small cardboard box.

"Ammunition for your father's pistol. There's four magazines in there too. All that's left is a drop leg holster, a belt holster, a fighting knife, and a booklet containing our personal phone numbers and addresses. If you have any problems or questions feel free to call any one of us. Send postcards too. Oh, and keep this in your wallet. If anyone with any sort of authority starts giving you hell about packing heat just show that to them." He hands me a card, and I take a quick glance at it before stuffing it in my wallet.

I hear the engine of the Panther rev up, and look behind me to see it slowly creeping forward. "I gotta go guys. Thank you all so much!" I cheer, hugging the lieutenant around the neck before zipping the bag up and looping it over one shoulder.

I make a running start at the Panther, and manage to make it up onto the engine deck first try.

"We'll be watching! Make us proud!" One of the Corporals yells after me while I climb down into my cupola, swinging the cover over my head once inside.

I plug my headset back into the intercom system, and Tama gives me a raised eyebrow. {Who was that?}

"They're guys my dad knew, we've been meeting three times a month to run PT and have coffee together. They were just giving me some stuff they thought I ought to have."

{Oh, okay. What's the other thing you were given?}

I pull the wooden box out of the map case before undoing the latch and gently opening the lid. "It's my dad's old service pistol. He didn't have anyone else so he left it to me in his will."

I pull the M1911A1 out of the velvet interior and clear the action before showing it to everyone briefly. Once most of them have gotten a decent look I put it back in the box and put the box back in the map case, unzipping the backpack once I'm done.

I take the harness and begin the painstaking process of untangling it from itself, which thankfully doesn't take too long, but it still takes a few minutes.

' _Now...he said there was a holster in here…ah, there it is!'_

I grab the leather holster from the bottom of the bag before attaching it to the harness and taking my jacket off. The lightweight harness fits perfectly, and I find a note in the three magazine pouches under my right arm.

 _Let us know if the harness doesn't fit, Davis guessed your measurements._

"Because that's _totally_ not creepy that he just nailed that." I mutter to myself while putting my jacket back on. Carefully I take out the pistol again and insert it into the holster before drawing the leather band across the grip to hold it in place.

{Hey Chris, you're not gonna carry that around everywhere...are you?}

"Well that's kinda the point of having it right? So I can protect myself should the need arise. It's not gonna save me if it's in my footlocker at home." I talk while I dig through the bag again, finally finding the magazines at the bottom.

I load the magazines and secure three in the pouches on the harness before slapping the fourth one into the pistol.

"I pray I never have to use it, but this way it's with me, and I'm ready for anything."

Sako cuts in before Tama can say anything. {When I was in the JROTC team we carried pistols with us. It's actually recommended due to the recent influx of terrorist attacks at large events, though people would have to be crazy to try to attack a Sensha-Do match.}

{There was actually a guy who tried sabotaging some of Pravda's JROTC tanks before a match a couple years ago. Nonna put an end to that before he got too terribly far. Who knew she carried a Nagant revolver? I had her figured for a Tokarev.} Megumi gets her two cents in.

{Oh yeah! I remember hearing about that!} Tama cheers.

{Didn't he already sabotage two of their T-55A's before she caught him?}

{Something like that.}

"Speaking of JROTC, Sako didn't you say you were on the team for a little while? Why'd you switch?"

{My grades dipped, and they kicked me out. I heard Kay needed a good driver so I signed up.}

{I'm pretty sure all of us were part of JROTC before we signed up to be your crew. I was a gunner on a Patton.} Tetsuki raises her voice to be heard, leaning on the gun breech.

{I was a loader on the Starship Patton.} Tama joins in, flexing her arm to show off her muscles.

{I was a transfer from another school, but I was part of the JROTC team there. I was a rear driver on a STRV-103C.} Megumi has by far the most interesting vehicle.

"Jatkosota High I'm assuming?"

{Yeah. They cut funding to the Sensha-Do team, so I moved.}

"Wow...you guys all have experience with Sensha-Do and I'm going off what I learned from video games."

{Eh don't worry about that. You're our commander and I think I speak for everyone here when I say we don't want anyone else.}

There's a round of confirmation while we climb a ramp into the carrier, onto a large elevator that lifts us up to the town.

{Hey Megumi, did you know Mika?} Sako asks out of the blue.

{Yes sadly. I don't care if I ever see that woman again.}

{What's she likes outside of the tank?}

{...I'd keep my hands on any valuables and all tanks guarded while she's around if I were you. She has a bad habit of 'borrowing' stuff from other schools and not giving it back.}

{I thought Jatkosota was a Finnish school? The 103 is Swedish.}

{It is, the 103 was one of those borrowed things.}

"So your best tank was stolen from another school?"

{That sums it up pretty well. Can we change the subject?}

"Alright. Hey Sako, how about you tell us about the match that we earned the Panther in?"

{Okay! So it was a couple years ago, we made a high-stakes bet with Black Forest Peak where the loser had to give up one of their tanks of the winners choosing. We chose this Panther obviously, and if we lost then we had to give up Naomi's firefly -I guess Erika had some sort of grudge against it after Naomi knocked her out in a practice match- but we had a six on six elimination battle with them. We had two M60A1's, two M41's, and two M103's. They had four Leopards and two of those kanonenjagdpanzer's. Naturally my tank and our partner were sent on a scouting run along the flanks while the mediums and heavies went straight up the center. There was a skirmish, and we ended up knocking out all four of their Leopards while only losing one of our M60A1's. Then we just had to find the tank destroyers, which took a few minutes but we found them sitting in ambush. My tank got one and the other bulldog got the other. It's not very good of a story when I tell it because I was more focused on getting us places. If you ever meet my tank commander she tells it better than I do.}

{From what I heard the M60 that got knocked out had two members airlifted to the hospital because all four of the Leopards hit it at the same time.} Tama cuts in, opening the hatch on the rear of the turret.

{Yeah. The gunner fractured two vertebrae in her neck and the driver got knocked out when the momentum transfer stopped the tank while it was doing forty.}

I cringe inwardly while watching the approaching front gate.

"Sako take it easy on the way into the courtyard. The other clubs are moving their stuff in."

{Understood.}

Kay's Sherman turns into the front gate of the school, and we follow close behind, slowing to ensure anyone that isn't paying attention doesn't get ran over.

Thankfully people give us a wide berth, and wait for the entire column to pass before continuing on with their business.

The trucks are the first to park, and the automotive club students assist with backing the tanks into the garage.

"Alright, that's good enough Sako, kill it."

Our slow crawl backwards halts, and the engine turns off, leaving an eerie silence inside the tank that I'm quick to break.

"Okay! Remember people, we're doing timed maneuvers tomorrow evening."

I swing my hatch open and climb out, hauling my backpack onto one shoulder before sliding down the front slope, almost landing on Sako in the process.

"Woah, sorry."

"No worries. See you tomorrow."

She walks out, climbing into one of the trucks before firing up the engine and driving away.

I watch her leave before shrugging, waving goodbye to everyone, and climbing into the truck containing mine and Kay's stuff.

My blonde sister jogs over shortly thereafter and climbs into the driver's seat.

"Ready?"

"Yep. Let's go get our stuff unpacked so we can relax."

"Sounds like a plan, let's do it!"

* * *

 **[A/N]: I hope y'all enjoyed all the backstory! I've slowed down to go for quality over quantity, so my uploads will be more spread out now.**

 **As always, if there's something you enjoyed or have questions about, leave a review! I respond to every question I get, and constructive input is always welcome!**


	6. Chapter 6: Bellwall!

**[A/N]: Hey y'all, terribly sorry for the wait on this chapter. Life and school kinda got in the way.**

 **But hey, here it is!**

* * *

" _Alright guys! One more go, then we'll break for dinner! Oh, and trumpets? Don't fuck up this time, you know who you are."_

 _I give the conductor a nod before placing my fingers on the ivory keys of the piano, eyeing the sheet of music above my knuckles labeled 'Danny Boy'._

" _Ready? One, a-two, a-one. Two. Three."_

 _The song starts off as you'd expect, nice, slow, and relaxing. My fingers dance across the keys, being mindful to keep time while matching with the words that the vocalist is singing._

" _Oh Danny boy,_

 _The pipes, the pipes are calling~_

 _From Glen to Glen, and down the mountainside,_

 _The summer's gone, and all the flowers dying~_

 _It's you, it's you,_

 _Must go and I must bide~."_

 _I look to the percussion section and grin, giving them a nod to signal it's time to kick things up a notch. The song quickly turns from the usual folk song into more of a 1940's swing style of music._

" _But come ye back when summer's in the meadow!_

 _Or when the valley's hushed, and white with snow!_

' _Cuz I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow!_

 _Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so!"_

My phone buzzing under my head wakes me up, and begrudgingly I sit up, snoozing my alarm.

"Dammit...I like that song too…" I grumble, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

It's been three long weeks since I moved onto the carrier, and I've been keeping myself busy with studying for classes, along with running nearly daily exercies with the Panther and my crew.

Today however, is different. We get to have a little friendly match against Bellwall academy, and afterwards have a big party courtesy of my sister.

"Kay! Up and at 'em! It's time to get ready!" I yell across the room, throwing a teller mine shaped plush at her. The soft pillow ends up hitting her in the head, but she just adds it to her stack of pillows and turns over with a tired groan.

"Kay I'm serious, if you aren't up by the time I get my leg on I'm going to pin you down and tickle the hell out of you."

"...mmmmnnn…five more minutes..."

I grab my medications off a shelf above my cot, carefully sort them out into my palm, and knock them back with a swig of water before putting the bottles back and grabbing my prosthetic and pulling it on. Taking my sweet time to get it properly fitted and get dressed, and this time for a start I'm going to wear the shorts that are part of the uniform. I'm comfortable enough around my crew and the rest of the team to be myself and not hide my differences.

"Last warning! Get up now!" I yell at her, slipping my feet into my boots and lacing them up.

"Alright, alright. I'm up." Kay grumbles, sitting up and stretching.

"Good! Now get up and get dressed. You've got time for a shower, I'm making your favorite for dinner tonight, so I'll get the meat set out to thaw."

She instantly perks up. "Chicken fried steak?"

"With gravy. _If_ you hurry."

I don't think I've ever seen her get ready so fast.

* * *

"I'm telling you, this is the most comfortable seat for road marches!" I yell over the roaring engine and the wind, sitting on the engine deck with my back against the rear of the turret.

"I strongly disagree, straddling the gun is obviously the most comfortable!" Tetsuki yells back from her cross-legged spot on the turret roof.

"But then you got the wind in your face, and if it's cold out then you've got no heat!" It's a stupid argument just to pass the time, but it's fun nonetheless. Our tank sits third in the column of eight tanks, with Shermans both in front and behind us. "You've also got the camouflage to be mindful of! There's no foliage back here so it's really laid back!"

I want to continue my side of the argument, but Tama reaches out of the loader's hatch and taps me on the arm, motioning for me to hook up to the intercom system.

Reluctant to leave my heated seat I stand up and climb down into my cupola, putting my headset on. "What's up?"

{Kay's on the command net asking for you.}

"Alright, patch her through."

I grab my handset from its hook over my right shoulder. "You rang?"

{Yep! I want you to come with us when we go to meet Bellwall's team commander.}

"Roger that. What's our ETA looking like?"

{We should be there in about two minutes.}

"Roger that. Chris out."

I hang the handset back on its hook before sticking my head out of my cupola. "Two minutes!"

Tetsuki closes the notebook she's writing in and climbs into the turret through the loader's hatch, getting herself comfortable in her seat after climbing under the gun breech.

{So, who wants to hear a poem I just made?}

"Sure! Let's hear it."

{Dark skies and foggy air, I'm bone tired and damn I'm scared. My comrades all give their best, and it's up to me to do the rest.}

I grin, rolling the stanzas through my head. "I love it. Can we get a plaque of that for the team room?"

The rest of the crew voice their approval while the lead tank pulls off the road and the Kay motions to line up. I stand up on my seat, repeating the same signal to pass the message down the column.

The tanks all line up, and I see Kay and Naomi hop out of their tanks, heading towards a jeep that's been pulled around.

"Alright everyone, make sure everything is ready. I'm going with them to meet the other team's commander."

{Roger that!} Sako replies before I take my headset off and hang it on the hook before climbing out.

I slide down the front slope and take a few steps forward before the jeep rolls up. Not slowing for a single step I jump into the back seat, and we drive off across the thick woods towards Bellwall's starting position.

* * *

When we first come into view of the Bellwall academy tanks my first thought is ' _Oh shit that's some heavy armor'._ Then I catch a glimpse of the crews, and let me say, I'm not impressed. The crews don't seem to care that there's a uniform, and they wear pretty much whatever they want.

"I don't mean to be bitchy, but these guys seem like pushovers." I say while we're still out of earshot from the crews.

"Yes, but they make up for it with dedication, heavy armor, and the fact that they follow their team commander's every order to the letter." Kay mumbles back before waving at a redhead girl climbing down from a Tiger I. "Heya Emi!"

The redhead seems to be the only person in the entire Bellwall team who has her shit together. Her hair is pulled up into twintails, and a hair clip parts her bangs on her left side. She wears a Panzer crew jacket over her school uniform, and a pair of binoculars hangs from her neck.

"Hello Kay, thanks for having this match with us."

The two commanders shake hands, while Naomi and I kinda stand there like bumps on a log, waiting for our turn.

I look over the tanks while I wait, and I see the loader from the Tiger giving me _that_ look. I notice that I've still got my socks rolled down, but I leave them for the time being. I give a friendly nod with a cocky smirk, and she returns the nod much to my relief.

Then my attention is brought back to the girl in front of me. "Who's this? I've never seen her around before."

I step forward, offering my hand in greeting. "My name is Christina. Please just call me Chris."

She takes my hand, and we exchange a rather firm handshake before she introduces herself. "Emi Nakasuga. Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise."

Naomi talks with Emi for a little, and while I'm waiting for her to wrap up the conversation a girl dressed in clothes that just screams 'delinquent' approaches me.

"So what's your story? Did daddy take things a little too far?"

I cross my arms and turn to face her. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

"Bullshit, you heard me. What's the deal with your leg freak-show?"

Thankfully gaming with Americans has helped prepare me for exchanging trash talk.

"I broke it off in your dad's ass, and if you don't back off you'll be next."

Her eyes narrow, and four more people approach, some holding baseball bats. "I wonder if your bite is as good as your bark."

"You'll soon find out, we'll settle this on the field. Now call your goons off and go finish getting your tank ready."

She glares at me, her fists clenched in rage, and I expect her to start the fight, but Kay comes to my rescue.

"Chris! C'mon, let's go!"

I pivot on one foot and swiftly walk away, ignoring the jeers thrown in my direction as I follow Kay and Naomi over to the jeep. Once we're out of earshot Kay scowls at me.

"Picking fights?"

"Nope. She was. She tried to provoke me into swinging first, all I'm going to say beyond that is: Don't dish it out if you know you can't take it."

She chuckles and jumps into the passenger's seat. "Too true. Just watch yourself with them. I don't like how they are."

I climb in behind her. "Pffft, oh please. Haven't you been paying attention whenever we hit the ring? I can handle myself."

"Fair enough. But everyone has their limit, and I think four people with baseball bats is a little over yours."

"I've got my force multiplier. That's probably enough to get them to stop if I even flash it, and I know how to use it."

She hangs her head in response, unable to provide a response.

"But hey, that's not how I do things. I carry it more for peace of mind. Now let's get our heads in the game. You saw those four Panzer II's right?"

"Eh? Yeah. They aren't much of a threat."

"That's what they want us to think. I'm going to bet that they're going to use them for reconnaissance. Information has the biggest impact in any battle, more so than force size or composition. If you don't have any information then you're asking for trouble. We should take out those panzer II's immediately, and then we'll have our way with their heavier tanks."

Kay swivels in her seat while Naomi drives us towards our starting position. "How'd you come up with an idea like that?"

"It's what my gaming group does. We recon the area first with an insignificant looking force, and then we use that information to direct the main force into weak points in the enemy defenses."

She nods slowly, and I can see she's thinking really hard about this.

"Okay! We'll go with that plan. You'll have Shermans with you, because I don't like the idea of anyone going alone as long as they have recon."

"Good. Try to avoid making contact with their main force. If you do make contact try to disengage or draw them into an ambush, but have the ambush force keep their eyes open."

She gawks at me with her mouth hanging partially open. "You learned all of this from a game?"

I shy away slightly, my face heating up in evidence of a blush. "Yes?"

"Awesome! Tell all the commanders of your plan when we get back."

"O-okay."

* * *

"Commanders! Rally up here! We've got a plan!" I yell when we roll up to our starting point, jumping out of the jeep.

All the other commanders leave their vehicles and walk over, some carrying maps with them while they form a semicircle around me.

"You want to start this off Kay?" I ask the blonde, who's still sitting in the jeep.

"Nope! This one's all you, I'll finish up once you've finished."

I borrow a map from Arisa and put it on the hood of the jeep. "Okay, so we know their force composition, and I'll say this now, if we aren't smart about how we attack we _will_ lose. They have a Tiger, a Jagdpanther, an Elefant, a T-44, and four Panzer II's. Don't laugh at the light tanks, they'll probably be used for recon, and if they know where we are then Bellwall has the upper hand. If you can take out a scout tank please do. Don't chase them, and most importantly don't get into a duel with any of their tanks. Make your kills quickly and efficiently, then relocate before they can bring their forces to bear on you. Any questions?"

Arisa raises her hand. "How will we go about splitting our forces?"

"We'll split right down the middle, so four tanks will be led by Kay, and the other four will be led by…?" I look to Kay for an answer.

"You of course! This match is your proving ground!"

"...The second platoon will be led by myself in the Panther I guess. The platoons will consist of Kay, Arisa, and Shermans two and four. Platoon two is the rest of us." I look around the semicircle and receive several nods before circling two points on the map with an erasable pencil. "Watch these two areas and if possible avoid them. These are good ambush points due to their high visibility of the surrounding area and the thick foliage. Once we know where the tank destroyers are then we can possibly use these same spots, but be mindful of your surroundings. Kay the stage is yours." I step out of the semicircle and watch Kay as she stands up on the Jeep's seat.

"Let's keep our heads on a swivel, watch for friendlies, and most importantly, let's have fun!"

Everyone cheers in response, including myself.

"Mount up! Let's go get 'em!" Kay yells over the cheering, and everyone scrambles towards their tanks, Arisa taking her map back before sprinting towards her M4A1.

Kay and I are left standing before the line of vehicles.

"Have fun, don't get hurt." She giggles while clapping me on the shoulder.

"You too."

* * *

"Sako, fire it up!"

"You got it!"

"Tetsuki, keep an eye out for some sneaky light tanks. Use HE to disable them if we find one."

"Yes ma'am!"

The whine in the engine compartment stops, and the engine turns over, drowning out any other sound without my headset on.

{Engine started, give it a second before we go though, I heard a backfire that time.}

"Roger that. Megumi load your MG, I have a feeling we'll need it."

{Got it, give me a second.}

{Chris, helmet.} Tama reminds me, cradling a shell in her arms like a child.

"I was getting there." I retort, grabbing the helmet off its hook and fitting it on my head.

{Kay is giving you complete freedom of action. Match starts in one minute.}

"Megumi, channel two on my station please."

{...there you go.}

"Platoon two, we'll be swinging north through the forest road. My tank is in front, followed by three, then Naomi and four."

[On your lead boss.]

[Three is ready.]

[Four is having engine troubles. Probably a loose wire, give us a minute.]

I eye my watch, watching thirty seconds tick closer to the start of the match.

...

[Four is started, someone didn't bolt down a ground wire. We're set.]

I point to Tama as my watch reads five seconds. "Load it!"

Grinning wildly she shoves the round into the breech. {Loading complete!}

[Match start!]

"Sako, forward standard, we're taking the forest road."

{Gotcha!}

We lurch forward, slowly accelerating little by little as Sako shifts through the gears. Kay's platoon immediately angles left, heading for the more open ground of the area. It's a foolish move, but ultimately her choice.

After five minutes of driving we reach the road leading into the forest, and the other tanks form a column behind mine while we cautiously advance, using binoculars to try to find the Bellwall tanks before they find us. We're a half mile into the forest when I catch a glimpse of German gray through a bush at our 10 'o'clock. Acting like I didn't see it I place my foot on Tetsuki's left shoulder, a signal to traverse left. The turret is slowly turned, and when it's pointed in the general direction I tap my foot twice on her back, our signal to fire.

{On the way!}

The deafening boom of the gun breaks the peace, and the shell narrowly misses the bush. It has the desired effect, because the Panzer II hidden behind it pulls onto the road and tries to make a break for it.

"Three, it's yours! Get the little bastard!"

The Sherman behind us motors to our right side and sends a low-velocity 75mm shell flying at the little Panzer, hitting it in the engine and disabling it, which sends a white flag popping out of the turret.

"Good shot! Panzer destroyed! We're making a detour, follow the unicorn! Sako, hard left."

{Roger, everyone hold on, this is going to be a little rough.}

We turn left off the road, blazing a trail through the underbrush that our comrades follow, weaving between trees and crushing logs under our tracks like toothpicks.

The further into the woods we get the more I have this sense of foreboding, like there's something I'm missing.

"Megumi, send a report to Kay and ask their condition. Something doesn't seem right."

{Okay!}

I continue meticulously scanning the surrounding area, and the trees start to gradually spread out, leaving longer lanes of sight, but still not enough to see much further than a hundred yards.

{Kay is reporting that they have three tanks stuck in a swamp. She's asking if we can send two of our tanks to help them out.}

"Naomi and Three. You guys are being re-tasked to go help Kay and her platoon get unstuck. Get there as fast as possible."

[Yes ma'am.]

[Understood!]

The two Shermans accelerate and break off from the column, heading off to our left.

"Four, get on line. Keep your eyes peeled."

[Copy that.]

The remaining Sherman has a high-velocity 76 millimeter gun and HVSS suspension, making it perfectly capable of dealing with most of Bellwall's tanks at these ranges. The crew however, is one of the newer freshman crews, so I honestly don't have high hopes for them, but they're better than nothing. If anything, it gives the other team something else to shoot at.

I'm mulling that over in my head when I catch another glimpse of that German Gray.

"Four, halt. Panzer to your two o'clock, see it?"

[...Yeah, engaging.]

The turret quickly slews onto the Panzer II, and the gunner slams a high explosive round directly into the engine deck, catching it on fire and sending that characteristic white flag up out of the turret.

"Good kill, don't let it go to your heads."

[Yes ma'am!]

"That smoke is going to gain some attention. Let's pick up the pace Sako."

{Finally! I was getting tired of going slow!}

"We're still moving cautiously, just…faster."

The sound of main guns firing in the distance is accompanied by a cacophony of machine gun fire.

"Forget what I said, full speed ahead! Hard left!"

{You got it!}

I switch over to the command channel using a switch on my handset. "Kay what's going on over there? I hear gunfire."

[We're in a bit of a tight situation! I've still got two tanks bogged down and the T-44 is here along with the Elefant! I could really use your help if you can get here!]

"We're on the way! Keep your eyes open for any other tanks and focus on keeping those tanks from getting a shot!"

I quickly switch back to the intercom. "Megumi tell Four to try to keep up, Kay's in trouble and we gotta go bail her out."

{Got it!}

"Tama, what's in the tube right now? I lost track."

{Nothing right now.}

"Load AP. Tetsuki get your fangs out, we're hunting big game now."

{Roger that.} Tetsuki replies in a sultry tone, sending a shiver up my spine.

We tear through the underbrush, and I stick my head out my hatch for better visibility as we rumble out of the trees and into a large clearing.

To our left I see Naomi's firefly and Three paralleling us, but they disappear into the trees seconds later. Then, some movement to our right catches my eye.

"Sako Halt! Target, two o'clock! Jagdpanther!"

Sako throws the transmission into neutral and slams on the brakes while revving the engine, giving Tetsuki more power to turn the turret.

If the Jagdpanther has any clue we're here they aren't showing it, because they are showing their flat side as they cross the clearing, heading in the same direction we are.

{Gun loaded!}

Tetsuki slews the turret right until she spots the tank destroyer, and quickly reverses direction, making the motor grind a little while she tracks the fast tank destroyer.

{On target!}

"Fire!"

Four fires before we do, but the shell lands short. Our shell however, hits the target, smacking the Jagdpanther in the engine, causing it to come to a grinding halt before the incapacitation flag pops out of the roof.

"Good shot! Sako drive on!"

{Yes ma'am!}

The tank surges forward while Tetsuki orients the gun to the front, and Tama has another shell in hand before we even start moving.

{Up!}

[Chris this isn't looking good! The Tiger is here too! It's just me and Arisa!]

"Hang in there Sis! We're about two minutes out!"

Tama cradles another shell in her arms while we surge over the rough terrain, and I fully stick my head and shoulders out of the hatch, desperately scanning for any Bellwall tanks.

"Sako kick it in the ass! Flank speed!"

{Alright! Hold onto your hats!}

With a grinding of gears that seriously concerns me we accelerate even further, slinging clods of dirt and grass behind us in a rooster tail. We follow the clearing a mile downhill until we reach a small rise that drops down into the swamp that Kay's stuck in. A tan on green flash is all I need to find one of the Bellwall tanks.

"Sako halt! Tiger, Ten o'clock!"

While Tetsuki slews the gun onto target I motion for Four to keep moving past us, pointing at the T-44 that is clearly visible at our one o'clock.

Sako slams on the brakes and Tetsuki jumps the gun, accidentally firing the gun straight into the dirt in front of us. Thankfully Tama is ready with another round, and once we're fully stopped Tetsuki fires again, blowing the turret bustle off the Tiger and gaining its undivided attention. It reverses from its position and turns the front towards us while Megumi shoots at the vision slits to partially blind the heavy tank, but the roar of Naomi's Seventeen Pounder gun puts an end to it.

The Firefly emerges from the woods directly behind the Tiger seconds later, and starts to traverse the turret to their left before it takes a hit from the same direction, incapacitating it.

[Naomi here, the Elefant got me.]

[Four reporting T-44 destroyed!]

"All units converge on that Elefant and let's take it out!"

Another gun fires, followed by Arisa on the radio. [No need! We got 'em! That's the match!]

"What about the other two Panzer II's?"

[They're stuck down in the swamp.]

"Oh. What an anticlimax. I was kinda hoping we could hunt them down like mice."

Back over to the intercom, and it's celebration time.

"We won girls!"

{Damn right we did! Teamwork at its finest!} Sako cheers, giving Megumi a fist bump over the radio.

{Like a well oiled machine!} Tama adds on, giving Tetsuki a high-five over the gun breech.

"Great work everyone. You guys did great."

{There you go again, giving away all the credit. You're just as much a part of this as we are. Give yourself a little credit.}

"Alright, fine. Sako stop by the Tiger, we're gonna offer them a ride."

{Got it!}

Sako gently turns the Panther about, slowly and expertly guiding us to the Tiger, pulling up within feet of them.

"You guys want a ride back?!" I yell over the engine, sitting on the hatch cover.

"Why?! So you can gloat over us?!" The loader yells back.

"No, I'm honestly just offering you a ride back! Take it or leave it!"

Emi hauls herself out of her cupola and jumps across, fumbling the landing slightly before I grab her arm to keep her from falling over the side.

"Good match! You almost had us there, catching us divided."

"You as well. Though I have to ask, how did you get here so quickly? The first scout you shot reported you were nearly on the other end of the battle area."

I pat the turret roof. "This old girl can really get moving. It really helps that my driver is one of the best in the team. We went flank speed nearly all the way here."

She finishes waving her crew aboard and raises an eyebrow at me. "You know that puts a ton of unnecessary stress on the final drives right?"

"Yep! A necessary evil I guess. We can always repair them if they break. It'll put us out of the match, but in situations like what just happened it's worth it."

Emi stares at me like I'm crazy before shrugging. "Whatever, it's your tank."

I notice the loader giving me _that_ look again, and decide to call her out on it. "You there, stop looking at me like that."

"Eh? Like what?"

"You're giving me that look of 'oh you poor thing'. Stop it."

"S-sorry… I didn't realize I was giving a look."

"Most people don't. I've seen that look enough that it just bugs me now. I'm over what happened." After the last person gets situated on the engine deck I reach down and grab my handset. "Alright Sako, take us back to the rally point."

{Copy, moving out.}

Emi sits on the turret roof while the rest of her crew sit on the engine deck.

"So, you guys seemed pretty alert from what the scouts reported. Did you know what we were doing?"

I shake my head. "Not really, but I had a pretty good idea of what the Panzer's were for."

"What?! How?!"

I smirk, waving to Naomi as we rumble past. "Because it's what I'd do. You scout the enemy with an insignificant unit and then hit them when they're vulnerable."

Emi smiles and leans back, propping herself up with her arms. "I underestimated you. I thought you were new to Sensha-Do."

"Oh I am, don't get me wrong. This was my first match fighting something other than other Saunders crews. I'm also the least experienced person in my crew."

Her surprise only increases the more I talk. "How did you get so good?!"

"Trade secret. By the way, you might want to give that Jagdpanther crew a lesson in how to avoid tunnel vision. They had it bad when we got 'em."

Emi scowls. "I'll do that. They're a handful, but maybe this'll get them to listen."

Our conversation dies out there, but when we get to the rally point we find that there's a baseball diamond scrawled in the dirt, with some girls from the automotive club adding some finishing touches like chalk and the bases.

"Hmm? What's going on?"

"Oh, Kay insists that our teams have a softball game every time we play a match. She did this last year, and I'll admit it was fun."

"Softball?! Oh hell yes!" I cheer. "I haven't played softball for years!"

"Don't you have trouble running…?"

I shake my head, nearly smacking Emi in the face with my hair. "Not really. There's a technique to it. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, and I can't sprint as fast as I used to, but I can still get moving at a pretty good clip."

The 'Dragon Wagons' pass us going the opposite direction to recover the incapacitated tanks, and Sako turns off the road and parks near 'home base' before turning off the engine.

"Alright everyone, make the weapons safe and let's go have some more fun!" I cheer down into my hatch, hanging my helmet and headset.

Tetsuki grabs the breech wrench and opens the main gun breech, allowing Tama to grab the round in the gun and return it to the stowage rack in the hull. Megumi opens her MG34 and extracts the belt from it, dropping the pouch on her seat as she climbs out. Once the 75mm round is secured in the hull sponson Tama pulls the ammunition out of the coaxial mounted MG34 and stows the box in the sponson as well before opening up her hatch and climbing out.

"Hey Chris! Let me out!" Tetsuki yells from inside. I pull my left leg out of the cupola and start to hoist myself out, but my prosthetic gets caught on a vision port, the sudden stop throwing off my balance. I topple backwards, the prosthetic comes off, and I fall off the side of the tank, tucking my chin to my chest before I slam into the hard and uneven ground on my back, knocking my breath out and sending the world into darkness for me for a little bit. When I come to I see Kay next to me.

"Chris! You alright?"

I take a mental stock of how I feel before answering. "My head hurts like hell, my back aches, and I bit my tongue."

Kay looks at me with elevated concern. "That's the most I've ever heard you complain in a single sentence, did you land on your head?"

"No… I landed on my shoulders with my head tucked." ' _I think'_

Every heartbeat feels like a rubber mallet to the skull, and when I sit up Kay pushes me back down onto the stretcher. "You're not going anywhere. Don't even try to sit up."

I groan and shield my eyes from the sun that emerges from the clouds. "Got it Sis. Could you or someone grab my shemagh from my bag? My eyes are a tad sensitive."

"Megumi! Grab Chris's bag!"

I keep my eyes closed, and listen to the sound of boots pounding on the ground as Megumi runs over to the Panther and climbs onto it, retrieving my small bag from my station.

"I feel like I got suplexed by staff sergeant Kelso." I groan, covering my eyes in the crook of my elbow.

"Who?" Kay asks. I can hear her catch my bag and unzip it.

"He was a guy in my dad's unit. After I got done with therapy and getting used to my new leg he taught me pretty much all I know about hand-to-hand."

"You were taught by a marine? No wonder you always mop the floor with me on the mat." She moves my arm from my eyes and I lift my head so she can wrap the gigantic piece of cloth over my eyes.

"Well, quit using the same three moves and you might stand a chance." I tease, feeling my bag get placed in my lap before the stretcher is lifted up.

"We'll be keeping you awake for the next few hours in case you have a concussion, which all the symptoms are there, so you probably do." Megumi says from somewhere above my head.

"Define 'next few hours', because I know this is going to suck."

"The next twelve hours. Meaning we'll be bunking with you and Kay tonight to ensure you stay awake until four."

I whine a little, grabbing my backpack and hugging it. "God damn it… wait, I've got an idea. Someone grab my phone and give it here."

I release my bag, and someone digs through it for a second before the smartphone is pressed into my hand.

I press the small button on the front until it beeps twice.

"Siri, call sergeant dickhead."

The phone processes the request for a second before it starts ringing, and I hold it up to my ear. Two rings later the call is answered in English.

[ _Hello?_ ]

"Hey Kelso, it's Christina."

[ _Well if it isn't the orphan! We've been missing you on our marches._ ]

"Yeah, sorry. I'm actually not in the orphanage anymore. But that's another story, listen, can I ask a favor?"

[ _Depends, how do you need them killed?_ ]

"No killing necessary. Do you and the boys have any plans tonight? I fell off a tank and from how my symptoms are looking I have a pretty serious concussion. I need someone to keep me awake, and I know if you guys are going to have a gaming night then you'll do the trick."

[ _...Well, we were originally going to head out and paint the town, but I think we can have a gaming night. Let me ask the guys- Hey assholes! Chris wants to hang for the night, gaming night?... no Daniel's daughter dipshit!... alright, I'll let her know.- Yeah it's cool. Hartman has guard duty until midnight, but I'll get you checked out to see how bad your concussion is._ ]

"Sweet. You guys still living in that shitty apartment off eighth and main?"

[ _It's not shitty and yes we are. Bring some friends if you want, we're playing cards against humanity and the new guy's got that USMC deck. It's sure to be a riot._ ]

"Alright, I'll bring a couple. Most don't speak English, so I'm kinda limited."

[ _Alright, I gotta go, see you in a bit kid._ ]

"Later Kelso."

[ _*click*_ ]

I stow my phone in my jacket pocket and groan at the sharp aching in my shoulders. "Okay. So who speaks English and wants to go meet some badass friends of mine?"


	7. Chapter 7: 'Family' time

**[A/N]: As promised here it is! I had more than a few problems while making this chapter, one of which being my computer got dropped while I was moving, and I lost a good part of progress on not only this story, but others that I haven't uploaded... yet.**

 **I'm back in the saddle and ready to continue writing, though my schedule lately has been complete hell, hence the lack of a new chapter last month.**

 **Thank you all so much for your support of my writing, and as always, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Damn it…!" I groan at the discovery of my prosthetic, which was broken when I fell, having bent at a forty-five degree angle halfway down the 'shin', thus making it unusable.

This is after having said goodbye to Emi and loading up those who wanted to go with me to Kelso's apartment. Overall the only people who spoke decent English and had an interest in going were Kay, Sako, Megumi, and Tama, which was plenty of people.

Due to my head injury and compromised mobility I was placed in Megumi's station, which led to Kay taking my commander's seat, Megumi taking Tetsuki's seat, and Tama sitting in her usual station with Sako driving.

On another note, I've never seen Sako, drive so carefully before. Usually she floors it when we're out in town, but at every stoplight she was really gentle on the accelerator, her turns weren't very aggressive, and her stops were smooth as well.

So after we parked out front of Kelso's apartment I called her out on it.

"Alright, who are you and what have you done to my driver?"

"What?"

"That wasn't how you usually drive, you're always more aggressive."

"Hey! I can be gentle too!"

Tama and Megumi snicker while Kay climbs out.

"Yes, yes, we're all hormonal teenagers, try to keep yourselves together you two." I sigh, locating and pushing open the hatch above my head.

Kay is already there ready to help me get out by the time I get my head and shoulders through the narrow opening, and she grabs me under the shoulders before helping me out.

I'm slid down the front slope on my back, and then Sako helps Kay carry me to the door of the apartment. At my insistence I take off the makeshift blindfold and wrap it around my neck like a very loose scarf before Kay raps on the door several times.

A few seconds later the door opens, revealing a short blonde guy in a pair of shorts and a gray t-shirt. I don't recognize him, but I know this is the right address.

"Hello, is Kelso in right now?" I ask, straightening up with Kay supporting my right side.

He turns around and yells down the hall. "Hey Kelso! You got a bunch of kids here asking for you!"

"Let 'em in! I'm a bit preoccupied!"

With a shrug he steps to the side and waves us in. Since the hallway is too small for someone to stand on either side of me Tama picks me up in a bridal carry and leads the way in, down the hall to the living room.

When we enter we find Kelso on the floor with Stevens, with the latter in an arm-bar.

"Just tap already, you're fucked." I chortle as Tama lays me down on the leather couch, watching the brown-haired twenty-three year old struggle in the inescapable position.

"I'm not do- ah fuck! Alright!"

Kelso puts more pressure in the hold, and Stevens taps out before any serious injury is caused.

"Now if you're done showing your tough love, we've got introductions to go through." I interdict before Kelso can start talking trash. "This is Tama, Megumi, Sako, and Kay. Loader, radio operator, and driver in that order. Kay is my adopted sister." I point at them respectively, then motion to Kelso that it's his turn while he gets up off the ground.

"Well, I'm Kelso, this is Stevens, the guy who let you in is Jackson, and Hartman will be out in a minute."

"Did I hear my name?"

Hartman walks around the corner, stopping as he sees us, and more specifically, me. "Good god what did you do this time."

"I took a bit of a tumble…" I mumble sheepishly, closing my eyes when Jackson turns on a light in the kitchen.

"And why don't you have your prosthetic?"

"Fuckin' thing broke." I respond, more than a little irritation in my voice.

"That's an understatement." Kay cuts in, sitting down so my legs are in her lap. "On both accounts."

"Hush you." I snap, hearing Hartman chuckle.

"Alright kid, let's see your eyes." Kelso chortles, I can hear him kneel down next to me. "You feeling nauseous at all? Sensitivity to light?"

I open my eyes and turn my head to look at him. "Yes and yes."

He pulls a flashlight out of his pocket and turns it on. "Stare at my nose please." I do as instructed, struggling not to squint from my current sensitivity to light.

...

"...Yep. I don't even need to do the rest, you've definitely got a concussion, if you sleep then someone should wake you up every half hour. No TV, books, phone, anything. Just lay there and talk to someone while staring at the ceiling."

"Am I allowed to listen to music?" I ask, hoping Hartman will turn on one of his country music CD's from the States.

"Nope. Conversation only."

"Damn it."

The rest of my group start making themselves comfortable. Tama and Megumi sit at the table while Sako sits on the other couch next to Stevens,

"Watch yourself Sako, he's the troublemaker of the bunch." I joke, closing my eyes again to shield them from the bright light in the kitchen.

"We'll get along fine then!" She snickers back.

"Shit that's right. God you two would have the whole town burned down before morning."

An idea pops into my head.

"Hey Kay."

"Yeah?"

...Aaaaand it's gone.

"Shit…. nevermind, forgot what I was going to say. Sorry."

Sako giggles. "Feeling a little scatterbrained?"

"Yes." I groan, struggling to remember the idea.

"If you're trying to remember it then you might as well give up. You're not going to remember what it was."

"You sound like you have experience with concussions." Hartman observes, tucking his military ID into his breast pocket.

"Thus is the life of a light tank driver. Most of mine were from fighting Saint Gloriana. Their Chieftains could stop us dead in our tracks from the front, and they'd flip us if we got hit from the side." She giggles at the memories. "I'm surprised I don't have a permanent lump on my forehead."

"Do you remember that time against Pravda that you got smacked by the IS-7?" Tama asks, a smug grin on her face.

"I try not to, but yes. It's hard to forget." Sako groans into her hands. "It's not everyday you get slapped by a 130mm gun and roll four times down a hill. Thank God."

There's a collective chuckle that ripples through the room at Sako's expense, then Jackson finally turns off the damn light in the kitchen before he enters and sits in a plastic deck chair that he brings in from the balcony.

"So what's your specialty Jackson?" I ask, feeling a familiar tingling in my right leg.

"Driver."

It takes me a second to realize what that means. "Wait a second, what the hell happened to Davis?"

"His contract ended two weeks ago and he went home. We changed over to the A6 so Marcus and Willie moved out when they transferred vehicles." Hartman responds as he walks over and kneels down by me.

"And why am I only learning of this now? Why didn't any of you assholes tell me?!" I raise my voice while my eyes start to water up. "He was a member of the group we had going and you didn't even tell me when he was leaving."

"I know… I'm sorry Christina. I really am. We were going to tell you, but the ship didn't come in before he left." Hartman hugs me gently, rubbing circles in my back for several minutes while everyone else makes themselves busy.

Eventually he disengages from the embrace. "Sorry kiddo, I gotta get moving."

I sigh and lay back down. "Okay. I'll see you tonight."

"Take care of her everyone." He calls over his shoulder as he walks down the hall. "I'll be back at around one."

I hear the door open and close, and close my eyes. "I'm going to go to sleep. Someone wake me up in an hour."

"Oh, by the way, the orphanage sent your mail here that they received." Kelso reports. I hear the shuffling of paper and the zipper on my backpack being opened and closed. "It's in your bag now."

"Thanks, I'll read it when things are better." I mumble into the arm of the couch, trying to get comfortable.

"You know, you could use my bed. I won't be using it, and it's rather comfortable." Stevens offers from across the room.

I adjust myself again and open one eye to look at him. "Says the guy who routinely sleeps on the engine deck of a Paladin."

"...Fair enough, but you're obviously not going to sleep very well on the couch, so why not use someone's bed?"

Jackson gets up and moves to the sliding glass door which leads to the balcony. "You can use mine. I happen to like the couch and-"

"Yeah that's not gonna happen. You're a new guy and I don't know if you're a creep." I cut him off, glaring at him.

"...Seriously? I'm even taking shit about being a new guy from a civilian? When are y'all gonna quit busting my balls?"

"When you stop being the new guy, and for your information this little lady could probably kick your ass on the mat any day."

I hold my fist up and Kelso bumps it with his before Jackson snorts and opens the door, heading out onto the balcony while pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He closes the sliding glass door behind him while Kelso lifts me up. "Up you go, I'll put you in on Hartman's bed. Lord knows you don't want to sleep on mine."

"Alright… Thanks Kelso."

"Don't mention it. I've gotta do my part to take care of you." He carries me through the hall and into the last bedroom. He gently lays me on the immaculately made bed and I proceed to make myself comfortable by messing it up, much to Kelso's amusement. "You know he's going to be annoyed you messed up his bed."

"I know. But when in doubt I can always play the 'I'm injured' card and he'll shut up."

"Heh, sweet dreams kid."

"Arigatou."

He smiles and backs out the door, closing it. "I'm off duty, we aren't doing exercises, and I don't have an escort staying the night. I ain't speaking Japanese."

The door clicks shut, leaving me in the dark as I close my eyes, letting sleep wash me away.

Several repeated wakeup calls later it's past midnight, as evident when Hartman walks into his room, waking me when he sighs in frustration. "Y'know, I make that for a reason."

I yawn and stretch, feeling the dull burning in my right leg. "I know. But it's already messed up now, so there's no use in making a big fuss over it."

He knows I'm right, and he sighs in frustration again when he sits down on the edge of the bed and starts untying his boots. "Whatever, I'll sleep on the floor."

"You know you don't need to, this is what, a california king? There's plenty of room on this thing. I'll take the wall and you can take the rest."

"You know your dad would kill me-"

"No, he would kill you if anything happened. But nothing's gonna happen. Get your mind out of the gutter Hartman." I snap back at him, not quite awake enough to argue.

"Alright, whatever. I'm too fucking tired for this shit. Do you need anything before I pass out?"

"My bag from the living room please."

He places his boots in the corner and walks out, returning a minute later with my bag in one hand. "Your sister jacked your hoodie."

"She does that from time to time."

I take the backpack and unzip the smallest pouch, to find only my canteen in it. "The hell? Did I put it in the other pocket?" I mumble as I search through the next largest pouch, only to have no luck there either. I finally search through the largest pouch, and don't find what I'm looking for.

I flop back and groan. "Well, tonight is going to suck."

"Why's that?" Hartman asks, changing into a black t-shirt.

"I forgot to pack my medications. Go figure, I remembered everything else except what I really need."

He chuckles and empties his pockets on the bedside table before climbing in, nudging me towards the wall. "I'll drive you to the ship come morning. Try to get some sleep."

"Mmhmm."

I'd like to say I got a decent night of sleep, but in all honesty I didn't. I tossed and turned all night, sleeping only for maybe ten minutes at a time before the hourly wakeup call would come. Come morning I'm on the verge of crying from the pain in my leg, but I suck it up for another half-hour until breakfast is over.

Thankfully Hartman and I have known each other long enough that the second both of us are finished eating he scoops me up, grabs my bag, and makes a beeline for the door.

"I'll see you guys back at the ship Kay!" I yell over Hartman's shoulder, wrapping my arms around his neck to help him carry me. We get down to his car and he sets me down so I can lean against it while he digs into his pocket for his keys.

"So I've gotta ask, when are you guys being rotated out?" I wait for an answer, but he just shakes his head.

"Sorry little lady, I can't say. Security and all that."

He finally gets his keys out and unlocks the door before opening it, allowing me to hop into the passenger seat. I grab the door and close it while he walks around the front, climbing into the driver's seat while I buckle myself in and hold my backpack to my chest. The purr of the car is almost unnoticeable to me after so many times of riding in the Panther, and we pull out in a hurried fashion.

I can't seem to find a good topic to talk about, so most of the drive is quiet, until Hartman speaks just as we drive up the ramp into the ship. "You know… I know why you've taken a liking to me so much."

I look over at him in general confusion and interest. "Eh? You do?"

"Yep. Want me to share?"

"Please?"

He takes a deep breath. "It's because I remind you of your dad isn't it?"

I stare at him for a second before shifting to look out the window, though there's nothing to see. "Yeah…"

'He's right. So many of the same things my dad did, Hartman also does. Messing up my hair just to get a reaction, or calling me 'little lady'. Hell, they even looked similar.'

"You're the closest thing to blood-related family that I have." I admit, squeezing my backpack a little in search of comfort.

"That's not entirely true."

"Huh?" I look over at him as the elevator starts carrying the dozen or so cars up to the deck.

"You still have some family back in the States. Most specifically your grandparents and your aunt."

"EH?! Why haven't they came and picked me up?!"

He winces a bit from my volume, and I mumble a sheepish 'sorry' before he explains. "They haven't come to get you because your grandparents don't really care about -and I quote- 'raising a cripple'. On top of that your grandfather has a felony, he can't leave the States for another ten years. Your aunt apparently wasn't told that you had survived, but when I went home on leave for Christmas last year I told her, and so now she's been desperately trying to scrape together enough money to come to Japan. She would've been able to come month's ago but your grandparents were unwilling to offer financial help."

I take a minute to process all that I'm told, and when I'm done running it through my head again I lean back in my seat, looking up at the headliner. "Sounds like I have some asshole grandparents."

Hartman chuckles a little as the gigantic elevator reaches the deck. "That you do."

I keep thinking over what Hartman said about why my grandparents never came to get me, and I only can think of one thing, which I accidentally voice after we drive off the elevator. "I'm not a cripple…"

"Yeah I know it little lady, but you'd be hard pressed to convince them of that. Though if I somehow got some GoPro footage of you kicking ass in a Panther it might somehow find its way to their mailbox, and they might finally be convinced, but I'm incredibly doubtful."

Honestly, I'm glad he said something like that. At least it means I have a chance.

"I'll see what I can do for that footage, Kay told me I'm part of the finals team." I say with a smirk, using hand signals to give directions to the dorm I share with Kay. We arrive a few minutes later, and while Hartman is walking around the front of the car I dig my keys out of my backpack.

When Hartman opens the door he asks a question out of the blue. "You still playing piano?"

"Nope."

He lifts me up with a puzzled expression. "Really? Why not? You were really good."

"Not enough time and I can't find a piano to play on. Plus I haven't told anyone about my previous performances. I don't know how to break it to any of them."

He chuckles while he carries me up the steps and down the hall to our dorm. I unlock the door and push it open. "It might be a bit of a mess."

"Pfft, it can't be too bad."

He carries me inside and closes the door behind him with his foot before I tug on his shirt. "You can put me down now."

He sets me down and I hop into the bedroom, flopping down on my cot before grabbing the bottle of pills I had been looking for off the shelf above my bed. I down two of the small pills and lean against the wall while I wait for the medication to take hold.

A knock at the door brings my attention to Hartman, who's standing in the doorway. "I never understood how you find a rack like that comfortable."

I smile and stretch out on my bed, putting my hands behind my head while staring up at the ceiling. "Anything's more comfortable than a hospital bed."

"Heh, I guess you're right. You spent how long on that bed?"

"Twelve weeks and three days." I respond almost robotically before huffing in amusement. "Though it was more like two days from how much I was up and about on crutches."

"Yeah, you were pretty stubborn."

"Were? I guess I've gotta step it up a notch, I've got a reputation to uphold!" I joke, looking up at him with a mischievous grin, which he returns and shakes his head.

"Just don't hurt yourself any more that you have already."

I sit up, tapping my fingers on my left leg while trying to think up a different conversation. Hartman beats me to it.

"Say, when was the last time you checked the views on your piano cover videos?"

I have to think for a minute before producing an answer. "Probably about a year ago. They were pretty unimpressive… I think."

"You might want to have a look. A lot can change in a year."

I raise an eyebrow at him, and he nods insistently.

"... Alright fine, get my computer while I grab my prosthetic."

I slide one of my footlockers out from under my bunk and flip the lid open before digging under the socks and grabbing the prosthetic. It's fancier than my usual one and it looks like an actual leg, but it's also heavier, hence why I don't use it unless my other one breaks.

"You kept this thing up to date? I know how much you love it." Hartman asks, hefting my laptop from the footlocker at the foot of my bed.

"Of course. I even upgraded the graphics card." I grunt back, slipping the prosthetic on while he puts the computer on the wooden desk in the corner and starts it up. "It's still not as good as the computer that Davis had though."

"Oh God. That thing could have been called a super computer. Did he ever tell you how much he spent on that thing?"

"No…"

"Two thousand dollars, and that's with most of the components being on discount."

I deadpan, trying to remember the conversion rate between Yen and US Dollars. "Uhhhh…."

"Oh yeah, sorry. That's somewhere over two hundred thousand Yen."

"That's actually not much more than I've spent. I've spent somewhere around a hundred and twenty thousand Yen on mine." I finally get the prosthetic fitted properly and stand up, stomping my foot a couple times to ensure the fit is good before walking over to the desk and pulling the desk chair out.

"That somehow doesn't surprise me." Hartman grumbles as he sits down on the end of my bed, looking over my shoulder while I pull up my internet browser and log in.

"Let's see here…" I pull up the videos in question and my mouth drops open. My gaze changes from the computer screen to Hartman, who has a shit-eating grin on his face.

"I guess you could say most of them heard it through the grapevine."

"Did you just…?"

"Yep."

I glare at him before turning my attention back to the computer. "I always thought that cover I did sounded awful."

"Well evidently not. I mean, that video alone is eight thousand likes. Look at that one, that's another twenty thousand."

"I actually really liked playing that song, but what did you do? I know this isn't just my playing."

"There have been a couple guys in the HQ platoon who have been using this as their background, and they play over it. It sounds really badass and they've been giving your username out afterwards."

I just stare at the screen in awe, unable to comprehend how so many people could like how I play the piano.

"I'm not even that good…" I mumble, scrolling down to look at the rest of the videos.

"Are you kidding? You play better than most adults I know!"

"It's been at least a year since I last played… I don't even know if I can remember how… especially now with this damn concussion."

"Well, next time the ship comes in we'll have to test you. Will you guy be mooring somewhere else? Or here?"

I stand up, unsteadily at first, and walk over to our calendar on the wall by the door. "Uhh… We'll be anchoring in Oarai next weekend for some R and R. I'll be meeting the other school's commanders and then Monday Kay and I will be flying to Tokyo so we can pull our championship drawing."

Hartman chuckles and slowly closes the screen on the laptop. "Sounds like you've got a busy schedule."

"Yeah. Though I can thankfully get away with missing a day of class. My grades are immaculate." I brag while I walk back to my bed and sit down on it, leaning against the wall.

"Here you go again, using big words. Who taught you that one?" He teases, shifting in his spot to grin at me over his shoulder.

"You did." I punch him in the shoulder, earning a pained hiss in response.

"Did anyone ever tell you that your punches fuckin' hurt?"

"Suck it up. You're tougher than that." I taunt, poking him in the ribs.

He bristles and wiggles his fingers, threatening to tickle me if I continue. Thankfully there's a welcome break when I hear the door open down the hall. "I'm home!" Kay yells in Japanese. I can hear that it's more than just her, but I ignore that. It's probably just my crew.

"Welcome home! We're in here!" I yell back, straightening up out of my slouch.

Kay walks in and flops down on her bed, followed by Tetsuki, who has a big grin on her face. The latter leans against the wall with a cocky smirk that I've never seen before. "You'll never guess who's going to be joining us."

"You're right, so who is it?" I ask.

A new girl walks in, dressed in a Saunders uniform with her black hair in a braid that is pulled over her shoulder. It takes me a few seconds to realize who it is, but it finally clicks when I notice the small scar that peeks out of her left eyebrow, earned when she tripped running up the stairs.

"Serena?!"

"Hey Chris, it's good to see you."

I jump up and cross the gap between us in two steps before wrapping her up in a hug. She relaxes into the embrace and returns it, nuzzling into my neck affectionately.

"H-hey, not now." I murmur into her ear.

"Fine, but remember you still owe me." She grumbles, pulling out of the embrace to go stand by Tetsuki.

Sako and Tama come in, followed a few seconds later by Megumi. All of them make themselves comfortable, and I look around at each of them. "How long have you guys been organising this?"

"Ever since we first embarked." Tama admits, sitting on my desk.

"Tama was going to adopt her, but you said Serena was kinda quiet and shy, so I convinced her to let me adopt her." Tetsuki joins in, looping an arm over Serena's shoulders.

Serena smiles and confirms what Tetsuki says with a nod. "Our parents are very nice, and everyone helped me with my self confidence."

Sako chuckles and rubs the back of her neck. "She's got the makings of a good light tank driver. She's even got the slightly crazy part down to boot."

"She's a really good commander too. Once we got her confidence problem fixed she was keeping up in a duel against Alisa." Kay adds in, laying back onto her pile of pillows.

"Her gunnery marks were good too. Almost as good as mine, and definitely better than most of the sophomore gunners." Tetsuki states.

I look to Tama, expecting more praise for Serena, but Tama sighs. "This girl needs to hit the gym and hard. Sorry to say Serena."

"No it's fine! I'm glad that you pointed that out!" Serena objects. "Tama, would you help me get stronger?"

"Eh? Sure, I guess… but you'll have to get up early."

"That's fine!"

Hartman's phone suddenly chimes, and he checks it before standing up. "Well, it's been nice spending time with you kid, but I've gotta go. The ship leaves in half an hour."

I hug him around the waist. "Byyyee. I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Take care of yourself, and everyone else too. You all train hard and you'll win the tournament for sure!"

With that he breaks loose of the death grip I have around him and gives me a peck on the forehead before walking out.

After several minutes we're all situated in the kitchen, trying to figure out as a group what role Serena would fit in best, when Kay cuts in.

"I was going to bring it up with the other commanders first, but I actually had three of our M24 light tanks pulled out of storage and made ready. After seeing how successful Bellwall was I think we need some reconnaissance vehicles in our championship lineup."

"Then Serena could be a light tank commander!" Sako cheers, making all of us reel back in surprise.

"Well… it would help with doctrine…" I muse.

"We're going to be changing our doctrine too."

" _WHAT?!_ " All of us except for Serena yell at the same time.

"Sis have you lost it?! We can't change our doctrine this close to the championships! We'll get demolished!"

"Hear me out!" She defends. We all quiet down and listen, anxious and slightly dreading her idea. I grab a toothpick from the table and start nervously nibbling on one end before she takes a deep breath and starts to explain. "After the battle with Selection University and the championships last year everyone is revising their lineups and doctrines. If we don't change ours drastically we'll get left in the dust and we'll probably lose in the quarterfinals if not sooner. I got a taste of the more intense side of Sensha-Dou last year when I helped Miho fight Selection, and… I kinda like it."

I run my fingers through my hair and sigh. "This really should have been put into place at the end of last year so everyone had time to acclimate."

"Yeah, but at the end of last year I didn't know how our new doctrine should work, nor did I know what new vehicles we should implement or in what numbers. But now we have a tactical genius who has experience in simulated combat and a well-tested doctrine that can work with almost any number of vehicles."

I stare at her in confusion, furrowing my eyebrows. "...We do?"

Everyone stares at her with the same confused expression for a minute, then one by one they get this look of understanding and change their gaze to… me? I look around at them in confusion for a second before it dawns on me, and my jaw drops open, letting the toothpick fall to the floor.

"Why are you all… Oh no. No. It's a videogame for fuck sake!"

"It's better than nothing." Tama argues.

"Worth a try." Tetsuki agrees with Tama.

"You haven't failed us yet." Megumi shrugs and takes a drink of water.

"Sounds like a plan!" Sako cheers, flexing her muscles.

"I'll follow you anywhere, just tell me what to do." Serena says with a smile.

"You guys…" I groan and rest my face in my hands. "I don't know whether to tear up or scream."

I flop back on the carpeted floor while I weigh my options. 'Either stay with the current doctrine and add new vehicles, which might not work… Or make a new doctrine that has only been used in an online video game using a larger variety of vehicles…'

With a sigh I sit up and look at each one of them. Their eyes have a look of complete faith. I finish looking around with staring Kay in the eyes.

"Let's do this."


	8. Chapter 8: New people, old friends,

**[A/N]: Thank you all for being so patient while waiting for this chapter! I'd like to give a gigantic thank you to Goodalwayswins98 for helping me work through this, be sure to go check him out!**

 **As always, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

One week following our friendly skirmish with Bellwall I can finally get stuff done without being so scatterbrained. After getting a general outline on our new doctrine Kay and I immediately started grilling the other commanders on it. Day in and day out I worked through my semi-concussed state and continued developing what would hopefully be a successful doctrine, most nights depriving myself of sleep in order to get it done. I'd sometimes had to use my computer and converse with my American friends in order to get something right, but by the end of the week everything was laid out, and I realized we had a serious flaw in our current lineup.

"Sis, we got a problem that needs fixing."

"Let's hear it."

"We need heavy hitters for this to work. Tank destroyers, or self-propelled guns."

She takes on a worried look. "That _is_ a problem… the thing is that all the American tank destroyers have open tops. If we apply for permission to use them the paperwork probably won't reach the director's desk before our first match. Plus we'll have to retrain the crews, and there just isn't enough time between matches to get them proficient enough for them to be useful."

I stare at the computer screen, desperately trying to come up with a stopgap solution until it clicks. "Late war Jackson tank destroyers had armored roofs that came on them from the factory."

"We've got like six Jackson's, but four don't have engines and the other two don't have guns in their turrets."

"Damn…" I lean back in my chair and stare at the ceiling.

' _If we could take our existing sherman hulls and put the turrets on them… wait...'_

"That's it!" I cheer, leaning forward and pulling up my internet browser.

"What's it? What?" Kay asks, confused at my sudden burst of energy.

"If I recall correctly I've seen a picture of a Jackson turret on a sherman hull. I'm pretty sure it was a derivative of the Jackson!" I simply search 'M36 variants' and within seconds I have what I'm looking for. "Here it is! M36B1 tank destroyer. A M36 turret mounted on a M4A3 hull with ammunition stowage rearranged."

"You're a genius!" Kay cheers, whipping out her cellphone and dialing a number. "Hey Alisa! Keep this on the down-low from Naomi but when we go ashore I need you to have four of our M4A3's taken to the garage. We're going to have the turrets pulled off and replaced with M36 turrets." She listens for a minute and I can tell by the tapping of her foot that whatever Alisa is saying is irritating her. "Why should you do that? Because it's an order! Now _get it done_!" She angrily hangs up and tosses the phone on her nightstand before flopping back onto her bed. "Alisa's being a drama queen about this whole change and it's starting to get on my nerves."

"Yeah, I heard her talking shit yesterday and I was going to shut her down, but Naomi beat me to it. Speaking of Naomi, why do you want to keep it hidden from her?"

"The M36 is her favorite vehicle. She'll probably see the new vehicles as abominations."

"Oh. I'll drop a manual in her lap as a hint." I chortle, pulling up a surplus website from America that specifically sells training and field manuals.

"Subtlety isn't your specialty is it?"

I snort, typing the vehicle designation into the website's search bar. "I command a tank that was essentially the grandfather of what we know today as the Main Battle Tank. What do _you_ think?"

"Fair enough." Kay gets up and moves over to look over my shoulder. "Hey, wait before you buy those. We can use the Sensha-Dou budget."

"I'm just looking at how much they are."

"Oh, okay."

I search for the correct manual, and upon discovering the price in USD I convert it over to Yen.

"Okay so that's just over eleven-hundred Yen for each one, and we'll need twenty."

"That's great and all Sis, but what are you going to do for R and R this weekend? You've been working your ass off and you need a break."

With the doctrine mostly finished there's not much I can do, but I do have a few ideas. "I'll probably play with the guys and work out. Maybe do a bit of work on the Panther."

"We're having a party down on the beach tomorrow night if you're feeling sociable."

' _Yeah not happening'_ "I'll keep it in mind."

I pick my computer up and move over to my bed, sitting so Kay can't see the screen while I look up sheet music for the piano. More specifically I search for -and easily find- sheet music belonging to a certain Marlene Dietrich song that I absolutely adore. I save the files and vow to print them at a later time before reading over the notes, remembering what keys I should press in association to what notes.

Before I realize it two hours have passed, and Kay brings it to my attention by groaning and rolling off her chair with a dull thud. "Alright, what's for dinner?!"

I minimize the files and exit out of my browser before closing the laptop. "Well, if I recall correctly I still owe you that chicken fried steak I promised."

She jumps up and throws her arms above her head in celebration. "WOOHOO!"

"But!" I start, ending her celebration before it can fully start. "You're doing dishes."

She slumps her shoulders and lets her arms fall to her sides, knowing good and well how bad dishes are after I make her favorite dish. "Okay…"

I push the computer off my lap and get up, heading out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. I get out the necessary ingredients with Kay's _very_ enthusiastic help and set about getting everything mixed together. The steak is thoroughly pulverized like it owed me money and coated in the family secret batter, then of course breaded while I get the pan heated up and drowned in oil. I find cooking a welcome change of pace, and unknowingly I start humming 'Lili Marlene'.

My humming is only brought to my attention when Kay asks about it.

"Hey Chris, what's the song you're humming?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's just a song my dad used to sing while we were at the museum."

"How do the lyrics go?"

I chuckle and shake my head, using some tongs to turn over the steaks. "Not today Sis, maybe some other time."

"Alright fine…"

She brings me over a folded stack of paper towels to absorb the excess oil left on the steaks while I carefully tend them, getting ready for the oh so delicious 'part two'.

"So aside from the obvious parties you've got planned, what else are you gonna do this weekend?" I ask, pulling down two plates from the cupboard.

"I don't know, probably swim."

I take the steaks off and start making the gravy, fending off the blonde with a wooden spoon every time she tries to go for the sizzling bread-covered slabs of heaven on earth.

"Aww come on Chris! I'm hungry!"

"It's not done yet!"

"But the steaks are done and ready to eat!"

"Do you want salted gravy or not?"

 _That_ shuts her up. She retreats back to the kitchen table and sits there with an adorable pout while I finish making the gravy.

I'm sure to dish up my plate first, and once I'm heading towards the table I give her a nod. She jumps up and moves so fast I could almost swear she's on the verge of leaving an afterimage.

Okay maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but you get the point.

I wait patiently while she dishes up and sits down, scowling once she plops down and starts scarfing down the food.

" _Hey_. Are you forgetting something?"

She sits ramrod straight in her chair and puts her utensils down. "Sorry. Thank you for the food!"

"You're quite welcome. Now let's eat!"

" _So what's the plan for today kiddo?"_

" _I want to learn to play that song you always sing at the museum!"_

" _Oh, that? Why would you want to play that? Your mom has songs that sound much better."_

" _Because it's a song you like! I want to play it whenever you come back from a match!"_

" _Alright little lady. I'll see if I can get the sheet music from your momma."_

" _Awesome!"_

"Hey Chris, you alright?"

Kay tapping her glass of water with her fork brings me back.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah I'm fine, just reminiscing."

"About?"

I almost let it slip, but I catch myself and come up with a half-assed lie. "My mom used to be _really_ good at finding songs. I was just frustrated because I can't find the song I want to download."

"Oh. What kind of song?"

"Something for my workout playlist." I look up at the clock on the wall to find it's 1821 hours. ' _Just enough time to jog to the school and have some fun on the piano'_

"Speaking of working out, I'm going to go for a jog. I've been sitting on my ass all week long and I need to get back into the groove."

"But what about your dinner? You've hardly touched it."

"You can have my portion if you want. I don't need the calories." I say while I stand up, chugging my glass of water.

"...I'll put it in the fridge and save it for you."

"Thank you!" I call over my shoulder, heading to the bedroom to get changed into my exercise clothes.

I close the door behind me and grab a flash drive from my valuables. In a minute I have all the files transferring, so I change while I'm waiting. Black sweatpants, t-shirt, and my favorite hoodie. The rest is strictly need-to-know, and y'all don't need to know.

A chime from my computer tells me the documents finally finished transferring, and I grab the flash drive along with my phone and earbuds prior to heading for the door.

"I'm heading out! I'll be back in an hour or two!"

I don't wait for an answer. I'm out the door and halfway down the hall before the door swings shut.

' _It's been awhile since I jogged with this prosthetic. This oughta be interesting.'_

* * *

As luck would have it, the run actually went pretty well. The only times I stumbled were on curbs, and thankfully the gate was still open.

First I head to the faculty room and print off the sheet music, only getting a few curious looks from teachers before I leave, bound for the band room at the opposite end of the school. I keep the papers tucked under my hoodie as I traverse the maze of halls, though I only run into a couple other students who stayed late for clubs and whatnot.

When I enter the band room I'm greeted by the band teacher, a tall middle aged woman with long black hair.

"Oh hello Christina. How can I help you?" She asks, a look of genuine curiosity on her face.

"Ms. Nakamura, would it be alright if I used the piano for a little bit? It's been a while but I'm trying to get back into playing." I produce the sheet music from under my hoodie and flash it to her, showing that I've come prepared and I'm not just trying to make a racket.

"Yeah go ahead. I didn't know you played."

I smile and start towards the grand piano in the corner. "That's alright, not many people do. Kay doesn't know yet, and neither does anyone else spare a few select people ashore. I want to surprise the Sensha-Dou team."

"Ah, that's understandable. I'll keep it hush-hush for you then."

"Thank you. It would be very appreciated."

I sit down at the piano and test the pedals, setting the music where I can easily read it before I dig deep into my memory, remembering the lessons that both my parents gave me.

I take one last deep breath to calm my nerves before I start dancing my fingers across the keys, glancing back and forth between the sheet music and the ivory keys.

I get through the first verse before Ms. Nakamura starts singing along with the piano in english.

"Bugler tonight, don't play the call to arms

I want another evening with her charms

Then we will say goodbye and part

I'll always keep you in my heart

With me, Lili Marlene

With me, Lili Marlene."

I can feel my eyes starting to tear up. The lines of notes blurs, but I know the song well enough that I don't really need them.

"Give me a rose to show how much you care

Tied to the stem a lock of golden hair

Surely tomorrow, you'll feel blue

But then will come a love that's new  
For you, Lili Marleen

For you, Lili Marleen."

Tears stream down my face. I have to hold back a sob and swallow hard as we near the last full verse. All the memories the song brings up have stopped me in the past at the previous verse, but I refuse to give in, and keep playing through the tears, despite the fact that I can't make out the individual white keys through my tears.

"When we are marching through the muck and cold

And when my pack seems more than I can hold

My love for you renews my might

I'm warm again, my pack is light

It's you, Lili Marlene

It's you, Lili Marlene."

I almost cheer with joy, but remember there's one last bit, and keep playing. I'm so close to finishing the song. Something I haven't been able to do for three years.

"My love for you renews my might

I'm warm again, my pack is light

It's you, Lili Marlene

It's you, Lili Marlene."

When the song ends I slowly remove my hands from the keys and close the cover, then wipe my face on my sleeve.

' _I did it!'_

With a sniffle I grab the sheet music, smile, and turn around, only to freeze and accidentally drop the papers.

Congregated just inside the doorway is everyone I'd gotten close to at Saunders. Kay, Naomi and Alisa stand towards the back, behind Tetsuki, Serena, and Sako. Behind them Tama and Megumi both have gigantic toothy smiles, their cheeks glistening from the tears that drip off their chins. I flash a panicked and accusing look at Ms. Nakamura, but she puts her hands up to her shoulders in a 'wasn't me!' gesture.

"Next time, before you go rushing off, make sure you _close_ your computer." Serena teases, pushing Tetsuki's mouth closed before closing the gap between us and wiping the tears off my face. "I was wondering if you were still playing. I guess this answers _that_ question."

"Y-you guys saw all of that?" I stutter, hoping my plans for a surprise aren't ruined.

"Yeah. We've been here since the second verse." Serena confirms. "We stopped by around two minutes after you left to see if you wanted to help my crew and I with some maneuvers. Kay was grabbing her jacket and found your files pulled up."

"Please don't tell everyone about this. I don't want to have to play for the entire tankery team." I beg, looking Kay in the eyes while she stares at me, still in awe at seeing me play the piano. A nudge from Alisa eventually brings her back to reality, though she still looks pretty rattled.

"Uhh, o-okay. W-when were you going to tell us?"

"I was actually going to play a song when we went to go meet the other commanders." I rub the back of my neck, feeling my face heat up slightly.

"Your playing was amazing! I've never heard that song played on piano before!" Megumi cheers, wiping her face with her sleeve.

"I can't wait to hear you play again!" Tama joins in with her, blowing her nose into a tissue.

After everyone finishes congratulating me Serena brings up the whole point of her finding me. "Sooo can we get some help with practice?"

"Sure! Just let me gather up my music."

I turn around to find that Ms. Nakamura has already gathered up my bundle of sheet music. She offers it to me with a sincere smile.

"If you _ever_ want to use the piano, feel free to come in and use it. If you also need any help finding sheet music let me know. I've got a gigantic collection."

I take the papers and bow to her graciously. "Thank you. I'll be sure to do so."

The thirty-something year old teacher returns the bow before heading back into her office. "I expect great things during the tournament! Let's show the other schools what Saunders is made of!" She calls over her shoulder, getting us all hyped up.

I look to everyone, who is smiling and nodding to each other in agreement. Finally I get tired of just standing around. "Well?! What are we waiting for?! Let's go mount up! Move it people!"

My cheer spurs everyone into action, and miraculously without any stumbling or shuffling out the door they all turn as one and run out. I hold my papers to my side and sprint out behind them, taking long and fast strides. "Last one there has to clean out the suspension on the Panther for a month!"

* * *

 _ **The next morning…**_

The abrupt beginning of Reveille spouting from my phone at max volume is what wakes me up. Which is weird, because I usually wake up to the vibrations under my head.

I grab my phone and tap the power button to check the time.

' _God damn it…'_

"Kay get up. We're gonna be late."

To my surprise, my blonde sister immediately straightens up with a groan and swings her legs out of bed, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"I'm up. What time is it?"

"Oh-nine-twenty." I yawn back as I too swing my legs out of bed, grabbing the prosthetic. "We stayed up _way_ too late last night."

"What can I say? Night battles are fun."

Kay stands up and immediately starts putting on the uniform she'd laid out last night. I'm not far behind her, having fitted the prosthetic and taken my pills.

"Ugh, it's way too hot to be wearing these long socks." I complain, rolling down the socks so they're only ankle-high.

"Yeah I know, but at least we're allowed to roll them down."

"True." I pull up the shorts, then the skirt, and start to get the jacket fitted before Kay comes over and tries to help me. I bat her hands away and finish getting it tucked in. Then I grab my trademark leather jacket and drop it on my cot before I throw on the harness including my shoulder holster. Kay gives me a cross look when I holster the firearm and slip on the leather jacket.

"What? You know how it is." I almost snarl at her, zipping up the jacket.

"Yeah I know, but that jacket is going to be _really_ warm."

"I'll deal." I slip on my boots and lace them up, making sure they're tight as Kay slips into the regulation shoes. Thankfully as long as we somewhat adhere to the uniform guidelines the teachers don't really care, so I can get away with the boots and jacket.

Finally we both thoroughly comb down our bedhead and grab a quick and easy breakfast from the kitchen before we head out the door.

* * *

It's pretty hard to hear each other when the jeep is moving at a good clip, so we don't talk for most of the drive, though we tease each other and exchange pointless banter at every stoplight.

* * *

An hour after we woke up we drive into the parking lot of a tank cafe. Kay parks in between a Kubelwagen and a Daimler Dingo, and upon the engine being turned off I hear, then see, a Studebaker truck sporting a BM-13 Katyusha launcher roll into the parking lot.

"Oh, that must be Katyusha. I guess we're not the only ones who missed the first alarm." Kay stifles a yawn and climbs out, motioning for me to follow her. "Come on, you'll love these guys!"

I start to follow her, watching as a little short stack climbs out of the Studebaker, but the rattling of tracks once again pulls my attention to the parking lot entrance as a Panzer IV rumbles into a parking spot and powers down. Kay quickly changes direction and herds me along towards the panzer as hatches are opened and people start climbing out. The loader takes one look at me and climbs out even quicker, hopping off before approaching us, and more specifically, me.

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere before…"

Now that she mentions it, she _does_ look very familiar, never mind seeing her on television.

"Hmmm…"

We look each other over repeatedly, and after lingering on her hair it finally clicks.

"The tank museum!" I cheer, grinning wildly.

"That's it!"

We exchange a quick high-five before a cough from Kay brings our focus back to the short-haired brunette who emerged from the commander's hatch of the Panzer.

"Miho, this is Christina, my adopted sister and second in command."

I bow respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miho."

She bows back. "It's a pleasure to meet you too. Allow me to introduce everyone else. This is Hana Isuzu, gunner. Mako Reizei, driver. Saori Takebe, radio operator. And you seem pretty acquainted with Yukari Akiyama, loader."

"You didn't tell her your last name Miporin." Saori, the redhead, points out as she sits on the front slope of the Panzer.

"Because she doesn't need to. Everyone with an interest in Sensha-Dou knows of Miho Nishizumi!" I chortle. "It's a pleasure to meet you everyone. Yukari it's amazing to see you again, how long has it been?"

"It's been… at least three years. What happened that made you stop visiting?"

I knock on my prosthetic and clap her on the shoulder. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

' _More like I just don't want to kill the mood'_

Yukari and I exchange phone numbers before we follow our respective commanders, though I'm _really_ looking forward to catching up with her.

I follow Kay into the front door, and down the aisle to a long table lined with chairs. I recognize most of the uniforms from having watched the championships last year, as well as from the battle against Selection.

Kay eventually stops at the head of the table and places her hands on my shoulders. "Pardon the interruption everyone, but I have a new member to introduce to our circle!"

Everyone quiets down in seconds and turn their heads to face us, some shifting in their seats.

"This is Christina, Saunders' new vice-commander!"

The room remains awkwardly quiet for a moment before one of the girls from St. Gloriana sets down her tea and starts clapping, a sincere smile on her face. The rest of them quickly join in, though I can see the platinum-blonde from Kuromorimine giving me the stink eye while she claps unenthusiastically.

When they quiet down I bow. "It's an honor to be here and a pleasure to meet you all."

After I straighten up a raven-haired girl wearing what I guess is similar to an IJA uniform stands up and bows. "It is an honor for me to meet you Vice-Commander Christina. I am Kinuyo Nishi, commander of Chi-Ha-Tan girls high school Sensha-Dou team. I look forward to facing you in a match!"

Beside her a girl with crazy-looking twin tails stands up. "Anchovy and Carpaccio here from Anzio high school!" She waves enthusiastically to her partner, almost smacking the blonde girl in the face.

' _Anzio…? Oh right, the Italian school. I feel kinda bad for them, their tanks are garbage.'_

The two girls from St. Gloriana's stand up after the Italians sit down. "I am Darjeeling, and this is Assam. Saint Gloriana welcomes you."

Darjeeling sits down and the two girls from Kuromorimine stand up. "Welcome. I'm Maho Nishizumi, and this is my vice-commander Erika Itsumi. I do hope we can face each other in the coming tournaments."

' _She's definitely got more confidence than her sister… And why is prissy over there looking at me like that?!'_

After her another girl stands up, brushing a lock of her raven hair out of her eyes before speaking. "I am Eclair from Maginot. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Last and… possibly least -in terms of height- the short-stack I saw earlier stands up along with a rather tall woman, allowing herself to be hoisted up onto her shoulders.

"Hello. I am Nonna, Pravda's vice-commander. This is Katyusha, Pravda's Commander. It's nice to meet you."

"I always thought you'd be… taller. Errm no offence!"

' _I can't believe I just said that!'_

Katyusha glares at me and crosses her arms. "Who is this crippled little girl that dares insult Katyusha's greatness!? Your skills and tanks are beneath mine even if you're from Saunders!" She snarls. "I will crush you and your team on the field like the Red Army crushed Operation Citadel!"

I flash Kay a look that says 'I'm not awake enough for this shit' and move towards two open chairs across the table from Eclair, waving down a waitress in a panzer crew uniform while I sit down.

"Coffee, please." I mutter. She writes down the order and salutes before hurrying off.

"So, down to talks. Who has some interesting news?" Kay asks, sitting down beside me. Across the table Nonna and Katyusha sit down, and Eclair raises her hand as if in class.

"I'm sorry to say, but Maginot won't be participating in the tournaments this year. After my ousting of Madeleine last year our numbers dropped dramatically, and most of those that are left don't even listen to me. Maginot as a Sensha-Dou team is a laughing stock."

Everyone just stares in disbelief, and though my first thought is ' _giving up before trying? how incredibly french of you.'_ I decide it's better to keep that to myself. Thankfully I haven't been around the Marines enough to actually _say_ it.

"So that's it? You're just throwing in the towel without trying?" I ask, leaning forwards and resting some of my weight on the table.

"What's the point in trying?" Eclair sighs and stares at the crumb-covered saucer in front of her. "Everyone else on the team will just go do their own thing and we'll get torn to shreds."

I chuckle darkly and lean back, looking at the ceiling. "You know, Two and a half years ago I asked myself the same question every morning. 'What's the point?', 'why bother?', or 'what did I do to deserve this?'. I was just 'that girl'." I pause when the waitress brings me a mug and a pot of coffee, nodding appreciatively before pouring the delicious black liquid and taking a sip. "Every day I'd complain to my physical therapist about how much things sucked. How difficult it was to walk even four feet. He'd tell me the same thing every time. 'C'est la vie, keep going and things will get better'. Look at me now. I'm having coffee with Japan's best high school Sensha-Dou commanders." I steal a glance at Katyusha, who is eating a tank-shaped cake, or rather wearing most of it. "No matter their faults, they still get incredible results."

Eclair stares at me in surprise. "But if we keep losing then what's the point?"

I sigh, taking another gulp from the mug before explaining. "American general George S. Patton once said 'success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom'. Look at yourself and your team right now based on those guidelines and answer me this: how successful are you?"

"Err… I'm… not…" She hangs her head and looks away. I can see the beginning of tears to form.

"Okay Eclair, now two more questions: how can you fix that, and who can you ask for help? Feel free to ask for suggestions, because we all had to start somewhere."

I take another swig of coffee and look around at everyone else, to find they all have the same unwavering expression of faith. Darjeeling has a small smirk while she sips her tea. I can tell each one of them has analyzed me to some extent just from the small amount I've talked.

"Well… we could… umm…" Eclair looks to me for help, and I pour more coffee to myself before answering.

"Try to get _some_ of them to like you and listen."

"Third and second years first." Kay continues.

I nod, take a sip of coffee, and continue. "And you _cannot_ half-ass every attempt. If you're going to do it, do it right and give it your full effort. It's the same way in Sensha-Dou."

I look around the table and receive several encouraging nods. I smile and turn my attention back to Eclair, who is furiously scribbling notes in a small notepad. "So what are you going to do?"

"Try to get the older people to like me. If they start to like me then hopefully the younger ones will follow suit. Make sincere attempts and plan ahead for multiple possibilities."

"Perfect. Now hop to it, you don't have much time!"

"Right!"

Eclair practically jumps up out of her seat, pushing the chair in before running out of the cafe.

Once she's gone I sigh and look around. "Sorry for giving her the boot everyone, but with the issues she's having she needs to act fast if she wants to participate."

"I think you handled it rather well. That was a very mature way of handling such a subject." Darjeeling responds, sliding a saucer with some English biscuits down the table towards me. I take one with a smile and slide the rest back.

"Thank you. That means alot coming from a formal and mature person such as yourself."

I break the biscuit in half over my coffee so the crumbs fall into the cup and offer one half to Kay, who gladly takes it.

"Now then, since that bombshell has been taken care of, does anyone else have anything they deem worth sharing?" Kay asks, nibbling on the biscuit.

"I heard from a trusted source that Saunders is fielding a Panther tank this year. Would you care to comment on this?" Assam speaks up. I look to Kay and she shrugs. "Up to you honestly, I'm just here to make sure everyone listens."

I sigh and take a drink from my mug. "During the Second World War there were several Panthers captured by American or British troops and used until they broke down or were knocked out. Put simply, yes we are fielding a Panther this year."

Down the table, Erika smiles. "Have you been enjoying the flaws?"

"Yes we have. Thank you very much for providing us the opportunity to exploit such an outstanding vehicle."

Erika bristles, grinding her teeth, but quickly calms down when Maho whispers something in her ear.

"Don't expect the result of the battle to be the same this time."

I chuckle darkly and take a drink. "We shall see. You shouldn't worry about fighting us, and instead you should worry more about how you're going to beat Oarai."

"Worry about yourself!" Erika shouts at me, starting to get a little frazzled. "Even with our superior vehicles you still won't stand a chance!"

"Oh I am. I'm just testing you. Quite fast to anger are we?" I go to sip from my mug, but find it empty. "And if I recall correctly, we have the Panther because _you_ lost."

Erika closes her eyes and takes a couple deep breaths before opening her eyes and smiling fiendishly. "Well played."

I open my mouth to say "thank you" but I'm interrupted by my phone, which starts ringing. I practically rip it out of my pocket and regard the caller ID with a scowl before standing up and smiling apologetically. "Excuse me, I need to take this."

I start to walk towards the entrance and answer the call.

"If you're calling me on a weekend it must be pretty important. What's up?"

 _{Well, your Aunt finally got enough money. She'll be flying in two days from now.}_

I walk outside and lean against the wall beside the door. "Really? Is she planning on… y'know, taking me back with her?"

 _{I don't know, I think she wants to get to know you before she makes any decisions. She's bringing your cousin along too.}_

"Cousin? You didn't tell me I have a cousin!"

 _{I didn't? Whoops, must've slipped my mind. Well you also have a cousin. She's the same age as you.}_

"I'm going to be in Tokyo when they get here."

 _{Way ahead of you Little Lady. They're going to meet you at the ceremony and then fly back with you. It's been cleared with the school, they'll be staying aboard the carrier.}_

"...You've been working with Kay on this haven't you?"

 _{Yep. Oh, and your grandparents got the footage of you.}_

"And what did they think?"

 _{They're… not all that impressed, but it got them to help your aunt with money for the trip.}_

I sigh and push off the wall. "Assholes, but helpful at times."

 _{Pretty much.}_

"Alright. Well thanks for the heads-up. I'm meeting with the other commanders right now, so I'll talk to you later."

 _{Take it easy. Bye.}_

I hang up the phone and jam it into my pocket as I walk back inside. I find that all the commanders and vice-commanders are engaging in conversation, and instead of butting into a conversation I try to strike up a conversation with the only other person who isn't talking with someone.

Which happens to be Nonna.

"Hello. My apologies for earlier, I honestly was planning on keeping that height-related comment about Katyusha to myself."

"You said what everyone else thinks when they first meet her. I should be the one apologizing for her insensitive comment regarding your leg."

"It's fine, I've gotten used to it. It used to be one of the biggest deal breakers when someone would come to the orphanage, so when people disrespect me for it… it honestly doesn't bother me much."

"That is what you say, and yet your eyes tell a different story." Nonna has an unnerving smile, and the glint in her eye shows she knows I'm lying.

I huff in amusement, allowing myself a smirk. "I suppose you're right, but that story is for me to know."

"Speaking of stories." A familiar voice sounds from behind me. I feel an arm wrapped over my shoulders and Yukari steps beside me. "Miss Nonna, would you mind if I took Christina so her and I could catch up?"

"Not at all, go right ahead."

Yukari grabs my coffee and takes it over to a booth in the corner, prompting for me to sit across from her.

"So how have you been? I noticed you finally gave up on trying to keep your hair under control." I ask, sitting down and latching onto the mug.

"Yeah heheh. Mom and Dad have been understandably busy. They're the only barber shop on the ship. I've expanded my collection of stuff, and I even got to keep the shell casing that scored us the win against Kuromorimine last year!"

I giggle, imagining her polishing the 75mm shell casing like a trophy. "I suppose you've got a special place for that?"

"Yep! Right above my bed! I even got it engraved!"

' _Of course you did, you're a tank otaku'_ "What about the one from Selection?"

She slumps her shoulders and pouts a little. "There were too many shells on the floor, I couldn't tell which one it was."

"It's a shame the collection bins on german tanks aren't bigger. Tama is always having to sling shells out her hatch on the range. It's going to be a real pain in combat."

"Tama? Is that your loader?"

"Yep. She's a great person to be around. She's energetic like you are, and she's always trying to get the rest of us to laugh. My whole crew is just lounging around today. I could call them and we could have a meet-and-greet of sorts."

"Up to you."

I fiddle with my phone in my pocket for a second before shrugging. "Nah, we'll do it some other time."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, trying to strike up a decent idea for conversation. As usual, I'm the slower person.

"So vice-commander huh?"

I nod and smile, placing the now-empty coffee mug on the table. "First time I've heard about it. I really need to have a talk with her about dropping these things in my lap. First it was my own crew, then adoption, then using me for our doctrine, and now this… ugh." I lean back, resting my head against the booth. My bangs fall into my eyes, and I stubbornly brush them out of the way a couple times before groaning in frustration. "Do you think it would be possible for me to visit your parents shop? I need my bangs trimmed."

"Sure… you'd just have to change out of your uniform and into something more… incognito."

"Luckily for both of us, I happen to own plenty of incognito clothes. I've got a backpack in the jeep, give me a few to get changed."

I drop two thousand Yen on the table to pay for the coffee while also leaving a generous tip and get up, weaving through the small crowd and out the door.

After I grab the backpack containing a change of clothes I turn around to find Yukari walking out the door.

"You can change inside the Panzer if you want. I'll stand guard."

"Spend time inside of the same Panzer that won the championships last year? How could I pass up an offer like that?"

We both share a laugh while I climb up the front slope, then when I get atop the turret I kneel down. "I assume the most spacious place in this thing is your station?"

"Yeah! There's no seat though…"

I open the loader's hatch on the turret cheek and swing my lower half inside, accidentally bouncing both knees off the bottom of the gun breech in the process. I let out a grumble and haul the rest of myself inside, closing the hatch behind me before setting the bag on the commander's seat.

I quickly take off my jacket and lay it over the gun breech, followed by the harness for my holster and the upper part of my uniform. I unzip my bag and pull out the bundle of clothes inside, laying them over the gun breech before I bundle up the pieces of my uniform and jam them into the bag.

The new outfit primarily consists of the most abundant color in my wardrobe: black. Black shirt, hoodie, baseball cap, and tropentarn camouflage pants.

To anyone who doesn't know me, I look like a tourist, but that's also kinda the point. I was planning to take a trip onto the Ooarai carrier and have a peek at their tank lineup to see if they changed anything, and this just makes things easier.

I quickly get dressed, ensuring that I stuff the holster and firearm clear into the bottom of the bag before I zip up the bag and open the hatch, extracting myself through the opening with relative ease before closing the hatch.

I climb down the front slope to where Yukari is standing and shoulder my bag. "Compared to the Panther this cute Panzer is _easy_ to get off of."

She grins that mischievous grin of hers. "Yeah! If you want to trade-"

"Not on your life." I cut her off, shooting her a glare.

"You can't blame me for trying." She sweatdrops, rubbing the back of her neck.

I giggle, get my arm through the other backpack strap, and stand up a little straighter. "Lead the way Yukari!"

"Roger that!"

* * *

"How could we be lost?! You _live_ here!"

"I've never been in this area of town!"

I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. "Then why did we go this way?"

"Because I've never been to this side of town, and I figured it would be fun to explore with you a little..."

"Alright… when in doubt, head towards the ocean, then towards the carrier."

I start walking down a side street which leads to the docks with Yukari close behind me. It's a somewhat run-down section of the warehouse district, so I'm constantly looking around to ensure we're not walking into a nasty situation. Eventually something in a back alley between two warehouses catches my attention.

"Hold up, does your Sensha-Dou team store stuff here?"

"Not that I'm aware of…oh! Those are early Sherman tracks!"

"Yeah, and look at the rust on them. They've been here a while."

"They have, but that's rust from exposure to saltwater." Yukari points at the heavily corroded pin retaining clips, then the pins themselves.

"You're right. So the question is, if there's tank parts outside a warehouse, what's _inside_?"

A look of realization spreads across her face, and we both run around to the front of the warehouse before trying both the large bay doors and the small secondary entrance.

"Locked." I groan, slumping my shoulders before looking inside the small window. "Woah! Check it out!"

Yukari excitedly presses against the window and peers in like I am.

"Wooooaaah!"

"Those are Ooarai markings on the turrets!" I cheer, prying myself away from the window and moving towards the door. "Seems like a good enough reason to try this."

"Try what?"

"This." I take off my backpack and put it on the ground before sprinting at the door. At the last second I launch myself at the door, slamming against the door with the entirety of my weight.

As I had hoped, the doorjamb splinters, and the door swings open, dumping me in a heap just inside the door. I sit up and dust myself off as Yukari leans into the doorway.

"That's gonna bruise…" I grumble, rubbing my shoulder.

"Who cares! Look at this! Duplex Drive Shermans!" She cheers, running past me to the two very rusty-looking Shermans inside the warehouse. "I've never seen one of these in person before!"

"You should see the Saunders storage garage, we have at least a dozen of the things in there."

She's… not listening. Far too caught up in fawning over the poor neglected rare tanks that would make anyone think twice about even trying to restore them with a single glance.

Except for her.

A half-hour later there's two Dragon Wagons outside and an ARV Sherman that is hauling the decrepit hulls through the bay doors.

"Man, we've got our work cut out for us this time!" The head of the Automotive club calls over the multibank engine of the ARV.

"If you guys need any parts let your president know, she'll call Kay!" I yell.

"If these things are as bad as they look we're gonna need a lot more than just parts!"

I grab my little notepad from my backpack and scrawl my phone number before tearing out the paper and handing it to her. "Then give me a call! We'll work something out!"

She stares at me with confusion while I walk away. I glance over my shoulder and shrug my bag onto one shoulder before pointing to the back of my hoodie with my thumb, where there's bold white lettering.

' _FEAR THE UNICORN'_

The hoodie design was Sako's idea, and though I originally said 'no', she got Megumi to make a design of a unicorn with blood dripping off the horn. At that point the crew seemed hyped enough about it that I couldn't tell her 'no' anymore, and she purchased one hoodie and a baseball cap for each of us.

The design is a badge of honor at Saunders. I've actually had first-years _move_ _out of the way_ when we approached as a group.

To anyone else though, we haven't made our publicity widespread enough for it to make sense. The green-eyed girl from the Automotive Club just stares in confusion while Yukari and I walk away, following the instructions on my phone to get to the mooring for the Ooarai carrier.

"Thanks for the patch by the way. I should put some in my bag too." I rub my sore shoulder, feeling the heat/ice patch under my jacket.

"It's nothing, you gotta be prepared you know!"

"Course, it helps if you don't do stupid things and get hurt in the first place."

"Sorry about not giving the patch to you sooner. I kinda got caught up in the excitement…"

"It's fine." I pause, grin, and pat her on the shoulder. "I've always been amazed at how you can just spout facts about any tank. I can remember a few things about big cats and a good majority of what's in the Saunders tank garage, but I'm nowhere close to what you can remember, and your collection of stuff was pretty impressive when we last met."

"Eheheh." Yukari rubs the back of her neck awkwardly. "Just wait until you see my room now. I've more than doubled my collection."

"Of course you have… Come on, let's double-time it."

"Right!"

* * *

"Haaa… haaa. How… are you… so good… at running?" Yukari asks when we arrive outside of her family's barber shop. She's out of breath, and looking like she's on the verge of losing her breakfast.

"Before I started going to Saunders I used to run ten miles a day twice a week. If anything… I've gotten lazy." I respond, slightly out of breath, but not as bad as she is.

"G-give me a minute… to catch my breath." She huffs back, doubling over and placing her hands on her knees.

"You really need to work on your stamina…"

"I'm used to loading. Lifting and shoving ten kilogram shells… haaah... _Not_ running a small marathon."

I smile and poke her in the side playfully. "My case in point."

I stand there for several minutes, leaning against a light post while Yukari huffs and wheezes, until she's finally caught her breath.

Upon receiving a nod from Yukari I let her enter first, and she calls out before she's got both feet inside the doorway. "I'm home! I brought a friend too!"

"Ohh? Would she like a haircut?!" Mr. Akiyama yells back. I can tell the excitement in his voice, and look to Yukari to see her sweatdrop.

"Honey go get them snacks!" Mrs. Akiyama yells. Some irritation showing in her voice as she comes out into the front room of the barber shop. "Oh, Hello. I don't believe we've met before."

I bow respectfully. "We have ma'am, but it was a couple years ago, and I was quite shorter. I'm Christina Schultz."

"I'm so sorry Miss Schultz, I didn't recognize you."

"No no, it's quite alright. It's been so long since we last saw each other that I'm honestly surprised Yukari even recognized me."

My damn phone starts ringing in my pocket, and I ignore it the first time, but when the person calls again I excuse myself and step outside.

"Yes?"

 _{Kay wants me to let you know that there's a beach party tonight. All the crews from the other schools are invited. Spread the word.}_

"You called me to tell me this? Why not just send me a text message?"

 _{My thumbs are damn near falling off as it is! This is easier!}_

"Got it Alisa. Thanks."

 _{*click*}_

Grumbling, I drop my phone into my backpack and head back inside. "Sorry about that. Yukari, Kay says there's a beach party tonight. All of the Ooarai Sensha-Dou team is invited. Spread the word."

"Roger that!" Yukari salutes me and whips out her phone, quickly typing out the message to her comrades.

"So how has life been treating you and your family Miss Schultz?" Mrs. Akiyama asks, moving towards her chair behind the counter.

"It's been… rough. Until the last few weeks that is."

"Really? How so? If you don't mind me asking."

' _Oh crap. How am I going to break the news to them?'_

"Well… a few weeks after Yukari and I last spent time together we got into a bad car crash and… Mom and Dad didn't make it." I pull up my pant leg to show the carbon fiber skin of my prosthetic. "I almost didn't too. I've been bouncing around a couple different orphanages. I finally found a family that I felt I can settle down with."

"I'm sorry to hear about your family… If we had known we would have gladly taken you in." Mrs. Akiyama starts to put a hand on my shoulder, but I smile and stop her arm.

"Thank you for the gesture, but the past is in the past. I'm over what happened."

There's a depressing quiet few moments before Mr. Akiyama walks through the doorway, a plate of assorted cookies and treats in one hand. "They weren't in Yukari's room…" He notices me right after I push my pant leg back down. "...Do I know you? I feel like I should, but I don't think I've ever seen you before."

"We have met before Mister Akiyama, but you were more well-acquainted with my father. Does the name Daniel Schultz ring any bells?"

"Of course! You must be Christina. How has your family been?"

I take a deep breath to calm my growing dread and say what needs to be said. "I'm sorry Mister Akiyama. I'm the last of the household who's still alive."

Mr. Akiyama's cheerful expression deflates like a ruptured bicycle tire, replaced by a look filled with confusion, shock, and dread. "Wha-...?"

"I'm sorry to be so blunt about it, but I don't tell the story for pity. There was a car crash, and they didn't make it. I miss them sure, but I'm happy where I am."

"Well… So long as you're happy! Is there anything I can get you right now?"

"Well, the primary reason I came here is my bangs could use a trim an-"

"Say no more! Take a seat and we'll get started!"

I remove my backpack and jacket, hanging them on the hooks by the door. I can hear the wall creak behind the hook when I hang my bag, and opt instead to lean it against the wall on the floor.

The moment I sit down Mr. Akiyama is behind me with a pair of scissors.

"Oh no you don't! We agreed, I handle the women's hair, and you handle the men's hair!" Mrs. Akiyama drags him away by his ear before he can touch my hair, swiping the scissors from his hand prior to taking position behind me.

"So what's the scoop on your new family? Do we know them?" She asks, measuring out my hair in her fingers.

"You might. They're actually pretty well-off. My sister is the same age as I am, and we're going to Saunders for our third year."

"Oh? I heard Saunders has a pretty good Sensha-Dou team."

I giggle slightly, looking out of the corner of my eye at Yukari, who is looking anywhere but at me. "I wonder who you heard that from."

A blush from Yukari confirms what I already knew, and she grabs the nearest thing to cover her blush.

Which just happens to be a Sensha-Dou magazine.

"Yukari, you aren't helping your case any. Look at the cover _before_ you pick up a magazine." I giggle again, watching her face turn beet red while she tries to find another magazine that isn't related to her obsession. After a brief amusing moment I finally turn my attention back to the hairdresser. "Yeah, the Saunders Sensha-Dou team is pretty good again this year, though the first-years need some work before we even _think_ about fielding them."

"We? So you're doing Sensha-Dou this year?"

"Yep! My crew and I need some work though…"

"That's not what Kay was saying! She said your crew is one of the best in the school!" Yukari protests firmly, giving up her search for a magazine.

"My sister needs to keep her mouth shut…" I grumble.

"Kay is your sister?" Mr. Akiyama jumps up from his seat after his wife's inquiry.

"Yep! She's also the Saunders Vice-Commander!"

I glare daggers at Yukari. I hadn't intended on sharing the information that she just carelessly threw to the breeze.

"V-vice Commander?!" Mr. Akiyama echoes, a 'deer in the headlights' look dominantly displayed on his face.

"The title of vice-commander was dropped in my lap this morning. Though, from how Kay has been approaching things I guess I handle the tanks and the tactics, and she handles the people. I'm only really a Vice-Commander on the battlefield."

Mr. Akiyama visibly relaxes, sitting back down behind the front desk.

Then, there's that annoying sound of my ringtone.

' _Well aren't I popular? That's the third call today, it's a record!'_

"Yukari could you get that for me?" I ask, since Mrs. Akiyama is still working on my hair.

"Sure!"

Yukari swiftly trods over to my bag, unzipping the smallest pouch and retrieving my phone. The second she passes it to me I answer it.

"Hello?"

 _{Hello! I'm Hoshino from the Ooarai Automotive Club, calling about these Shermans you and Yukari found.}_

"Right. You were the one I gave my number to, correct?"

 _{Yeah. These Shermans are a complete write-off. The interior rust is awful.}_

"I see. Send me some pictures and I'll talk to Kay about maybe sending some replacements your way."

 _{Thank you very much! We'll keep the rusted-out ones out of the scrap pile in case you want to trade them.}_

"It would be appreciated. I'll get back to you in a bit. I make no guarantees, but I'll do what I can."

 _{I look forward to hearing from you again.}_

I hang up rather abruptly, take a breath to steady myself, and call Kay.

{ _Hey! What's up?}_

"Hey Sis. Ooarai found two DD Shermans a couple hours ago, but I guess they'd sunk or something, because the rust is too bad for them to use them."

 _{Oh. That's a disappointment. But why does it sound like you're asking for a favor?}_

"Well, heheh, I was wondering if in the interest of making the Sensha-Dou matches more interesting. Do you think we could replace their Shermans with ones that run from our storage?"

 _{That's an interesting idea… I like it! I'll call Alisa and tell her to bring back two Duplex Drive Shermans!}_

"Awesome. They're willing to turn over the rusted hulls in exchange, as a sort of payment."

 _{Tell 'em don't worry about it. If there's one thing we can get away with, it's lend-lease!}_

I roll my eyes, deciding not to mention that the Lend-Lease program requires payment. "Alright, I'll let 'em know. See you at the party."

 _{Bye!}_

Kay hangs up before I can even get the phone away from my ear, and I pull up my call history so I can call Hoshino back. "One more phone call. Then I'll be able to talk. Sorry Missus Akiyama."

"It's quite alright. Judging from the look on Yukari's face I'd say you're working miracles." The woman responds, having still been working on my hair while I make these phone calls.

I look out of the corner of my eye at Yukari, to find she has her rare starry-eyed look that she only gets when she sees a rare tank.

"Yeah. Just business as usual I guess." I joke, pressing on the screen to call Hoshino before holding the phone up to my ear. It hardly has the chance to ring once before she picks up.

 _{Hoshino here!}_

"Hey, it's Christina from Saunders. I've got good news. You guys can do whatever you want with the rust piles, but you should be getting two brand new Shermans in a day or so."

 _{That's great to hear! Any idea on when and how they'll be arriving?}_

"Nope. Sorry. I'll be in touch though."

 _{Thank you so much!}_

"Don't mention it. Tata now."

 _{*click*}_

Finally through with business I drop my phone in my lap, letting out a sigh of relief. "There, done!"

"Convenient timing, I'm done as well. What do you think?" Mrs. Akiyama steps off to the side, allowing me to look at the mirror mounted on the wall.

"I love it. Say, do you think it would look good with streaks in a braid?" I ask, gathering my hair together and pulling it over my left shoulder.

"Streaks? Depends on the color. Braid? Sure! But _both_? Sorry hun, no."

"Oh well, can't blame me for asking." I shrug before standing up and grabbing my wallet from my bag. "Alright, how much do I owe you?"

"It's on the house." Mr. Akiyama stops me before I can pull out any money. "For any friends of the family it's completely free."

"But-" I try to protest, starting to pull out a few thousand Yen.

"I won't take it. Use the money to treat yourself."

I stare into his eyes for a solid thirty seconds before giving up and closing my wallet. "Fine."

He sighs in relief, sitting down at the register.

" _But._ I'm dragging your daughter off to the gym for a while."

" _EH?!_ " Yukari stares at me wide-eyed, mouth agape.

"You heard me, we're going to the gym, and we're going to get you introduced to my workout regime." I loop an arm over Yukari's shoulder, putting her in a very loose headlock.

"O-okay." Yukari stutters as her parents look on in a mixture of confusion and amusement.

I grab my jacket and throw it on before shouldering my backpack. While Yukari goes to get her workout clothes I slip a couple thousand Yen into a drawer containing hair cutting supplies. With any luck they won't find it until I'm gone.

A minute or so later Yukari returns, her large backpack slung over one shoulder.

"I guess I'm ready…"

"Good! Let's go!" I throw my arm over her shoulder and start to steer her towards the door. "Thank you for the haircut! I promise I won't run her into the ground!" I call over my shoulder as we head out the door. "...This time."


	9. Chapter 9: Old friends, Good times

**[A/N]: Howdy y'all! Here's more of that lovely exposition! Now that this bit is done I can finally get to the more interesting bits. I'll admit this chapter was a bit of a slog, but I'm looking forward to the next bit, so it'll probably take less time.**

 **Please feel free to leave a constructive review!**

 **As always, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Alright, let's take a break."

The second those words escape my mouth Yukari flops down, huffing like a steam train while fanning her sweat-soaked shirt.

I pull my phone out of my pocket while watching the setting sun and speed dial Kay.

 _{Hello!}_

"Hey Kay, do you think we could get a ride from the Ooarai carrier to the party? Yukari is tired of running, and I really don't feel like carrying her."

 _{Sure, I'll have the rest of your crew wait there on the pier.}_

"Thank you! Have 'em meet us there in say… half an hour?"

 _{Sounds good! See you in a bit!}_

"Bye-" _{*click!*}_

I pull my phone away from my ear and look at the screen to find that Kay has hung up on me. I grumble before jamming the phone back into my pocket and turning to look at Yukari, who is spread-eagled on the track, still out of breath.

"Workout is over! Let's go get cleaned up. My crew is meeting us in thirty minutes."

"How… do you… do that… every day?" Yukari wheezes, looking up at me.

"I don't. I do it four times a week."

"Are… are you even human?"

I giggle and offer a hand to her. "Last time I checked. You'll get used to it eventually."

She mumbles something that I don't quite catch and accepts the hand up, but given the look on her face I decide not to press the issue too much.

"Well anyway, let's go get washed up. I'm pretty sure neither of us want to go to a party smelling like sweat."

* * *

After washing up in Ooarai's locker room showers Yukari and I head down to the pier, where _Unicorn_ can clearly be seen sitting further down the way, with three people lounging around on the turret while a fourth is elbow-deep in the engine bay.

"Sako! Leave the damn engine alone!" I yell, throwing a half-eaten apple at her. The red missile sails right over her head, but it gets the message across, and she closes up the engine bay as we get closer.

"Told you, you should've waited!" Megumi prods Sako in the ribs while Tama hands her a small wad of Yen.

"Seriously? You guys were betting on if I'd get pissed at Sako for tinkering with the engine?" I deadpan.

"Nope! We were betting on if you'd throw something at her for it." Tama yawns, stretching out on the turret roof. "I didn't think you would have anything to throw."

I sigh, shaking my head softly for a moment before taking my bag off my shoulder and passing it up to Sako. "Whatever. I'd like to introduce you guys to Yukari Akiyama. She's an old friend, and she's also the loader of Ooarai's Anglerfish team."

Everyone throws 'nice to meet you' or 'hello' in Yukari's direction as they get ready to get moving. Sako drops into her hatch while Megumi does the same. Tetsuki sits up on the gun mantlet while Tama remains stretched out of the turret roof, looking up at the peach-colored sky.

I get a running start at the front slope and ascend easily with a helping hand from Tetsuki. I sit next to Tetsuki and offer a hand to Yukari before she makes a similar run like mine, though instead of going straight up the slope she bounds off the mud guard, then the hull MG, and finally comes to a stop next to me, having not removed her backpack.

"So, this here is Tetsuki, my gunner. That brute laying on the turret behind you is Tama. Megumi down below your feet is the radio operator, and Sako is my daredevil of a driver." I introduce them all at the same time before giving a few stomps on Sako's closed hatch. I hear the starter begin to whine seconds later.

"So where's Serena? I figured she'd be here with you." I ask Tetsuki, who's sketching in her notebook.

"Oh, she's off running around with her crew. They were doing camouflage drills earlier. They'll be there at the party."

"Awesome."

I look over to see Yukari staring longingly at my open commanders hatch, and I laugh before getting up and stepping onto the turret, making sure I avoid stepping on my sprawled-out loader.

"Yukari, you can climb into Tama's station if you want."

"Yahoo!" She cheers, scrambling up over the turret and onto the engine deck before swinging her legs into the hatch on the rear of the turret and pulling herself inside.

I step over Tama and climb down into my hatch, making sure to watch the tank nut so she doesn't get into anything she's not supposed to.

She grins like a maniac when the engine finally turns over, hugging herself and turning from side to side.

I shake my head and giggle before putting on my headset. "Alright Sako, to the beach. Nice and gentle. I know you can do it."

 _{Alright fine, I'll take it easy.}_

"Thank you. I'm sure the final drives and our passenger would greatly appreciate it."

* * *

As we roll down onto the beach I see hundreds of students from Saunders and other schools scattered along the sand, with some tanks close to our end. Along the sea wall are several trucks with mobile kitchens on them. Further down towards the end though, are the trucks from the other schools. An Opel Blitz, then a Fiat-SPA 38R, followed by a…

"Hey, is that seriously a horse-drawn carriage hooked up to a Ka-Mi?"

 _{Yeah… Chi-Ha-Tan is pretty old-fashioned. But they do make some good stuffed onigiri.}_ Yukari responds using Tama's headset, sitting at the back of the turret looking out over the roof.

Past the Ka-Mi is another carriage, though this one is hooked up to a type 95 Ha-Go, and past that is a pair of Bedford trucks.

Last on the end is a pair of type-95 pickup trucks, bearing Ooarai markings.

"Park it on this end by the studebakers Sako."

 _{Got it Top!}_

We rumble down the concrete ramp to the beach, and Sako parks the Panther by the end, with the front facing the ocean and the rear facing the sea wall. I take off my headset and pull myself out to the fading smell of exhaust, which is quickly replaced by the smell of various different types of food mixing together in a cocktail of smells that makes my stomach growl.

"Alright, no getting drunk, don't eat anything you're allergic to, and let's have fun!"

" _YEAH_!" Everyone cheers before dismounting.

I wait until everyone is gone before I shut the hatches and change into my school uniform, putting my harness and holster under the leather jacket. Not like I'll need it, but I'm reluctant to leave it in the tank.

After hanging my bag off the bottom of my seat I climb out and jump down, just as a M151 drives down the ramp and onto the sand, parking beside the Panther.

"Sorry we're late!" Serena yells to me while she climbs out of the passenger seat.

"It's fine, we only just got here too!" I call back, waving her and her crew along. The crew all disband and head to go mingle with the other students, leaving Serena and I to talk in relative peace.

"So how's your training going? You've really been working hard." I ask while we walk along the line of trucks, looking at the menu's while trying to sniff out any food that smells appetizing.

"The others say they were kinda having trouble changing over, but I think that with a little more practice we should be good to fight in the tournaments."

When we walk past the mobile kitchens from Kuromorimine she sniffs the air and starts to stray towards the Opel Blitz nearest to us. "Ist das… Sauerbraten?"

Knowing Serena's German heritage and raising it doesn't surprise me that she's interested in the food from Kuromorimine, so I start to follow her, looking at the menu and pulling out the required amount of Yen.

Just as she's about to reach the table set up to order from I jog past her and lay a fat wad of Yen on the table. "Whatever she wants. Keep the change."

The girl behind the table nods and looks to Serena, who's looking at the menu with a scowl and mumbling to herself. "Seriously…? Why did you guys have to put it in Japanese? Even English is easier to translate than this shit." Finally she gives up on reading the menu and rattles off a string of German to the girl, who regards her with a look of complete and utter confusion. "Koume! A little help here?!" She yells into the back of the truck, from which a short-haired girl emerges, wearing an apron.

"Yes?"

The new girl nudges the cashier aside and grabs the notepad. "Sorry, she's just a first-year. Can you repeat your order?"

Serena once again rattles out some German, and the new girl jots down some stuff on the notepad. "Sauerbraten mit Kartoffelklöße?"

Serena smiles and nods. "Ja, bitte."

Most of the exchange goes right over my head, but I do catch a word here and there.

"That'll be five hundred Yen."

I step up beside Serena again. "Money's on the table. I'm paying for her."

"Which you don't need to, I've got my own money you know." Serena grumbles at me while the clueless first-year counts out the money.

"Shut up and let me treat my family every now and then." I snap, poking her in the ribs with my thumb, causing her to yelp and put some distance between us.

"Family? Are you two sisters?" The first-year asks, handing me back the rest of the Yen, though I told her to keep it.

"Only by situation. We spent close to three years together in the same building." I explain, further pursuing Serena to terrorize her.

"I should've known some Saunders students would be messing around. Are you going to just screw around by our shops or are you going to actually buy some food?" A condescending voice sounds from behind us, and I turn around to find Erika standing there with her usual frown.

"Well hello Erika. I thought that the entire purpose of this was to unwind from all the hardcore training we've been doing. And for your information, she just ordered." I jerk my thumb towards Serena, who's standing cautiously a few feet away.

Koume steps out of the back of the truck with a paper plate that has Serena's order. The pot roast sits in the center, with a couple potato dumplings on the side.

Serena takes the plate with a smile and smells the food before grabbing a fork. "Well, it smells right." She first spears one of the dumplings with her fork prior to rolling it in the gravy and popping it in her mouth. I step over to Erika while Serena stabs the second dumpling and repeats the process.

"The crucial part is coming up. You better pray that the roast is prepared properly or she's gonna let you know about it."

"Why would I listen to someone from Saunders on our cooking?"

I scowl at the stubborn vice-commander. I'm already getting tired of her snooty attitude, so I do my best to put her in her place. "Because her mother was German, and this is her favorite dish. If you guys fucked it up she's not gonna be happy."

A look of realization passes across her face, and she too waits for Serena to eat the roast.

Finally the ravenette finishes the dumplings and pops a piece of roast in her mouth. She chews it slowly at first, then hurries up and swallows it before looking to me. "It passes, but only barely."

Then she turns to Koume. "How long did you let it marinade?"

"Three days."

Serena cringes slightly. "Give it one more day next time. Four days minimum, ten days maximum."

"Thank you very much. We'll be sure to do so next time." Koume responds, bowing before she climbs up into the back of the truck and disappears from sight.

"Well, come on Serena. I've still gotta get something to eat." I call out, starting to continue down the line of trucks.

"I'm coming, just slow down so I can enjoy this!"

We get a fair distance away from the Kuromorimine trucks before I ask her the real question.

"So, how is it really?"

"This is a disgrace to German food everywhere. The gravy is the only redeeming factor. Credit to them though, at least they got that right." She grumbles, stabbing another piece of roast and popping it in her mouth.

"Why didn't you say that then?"

"That Koume girl seemed so nice. I didn't have it in me to tell her the roast tastes like shit. If it'd been that girl you were talking to though…"

"Erika? Fair enough."

"I did manage to understand that sign enough to tell that they have Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. I may have to swing through there later and get a slice for us both." She slows down long enough to throw the plate in the trash before catching up with me. "Though if they screw that up I'm going to raise hell."

"I figured as much."

"Anyway. Smell anything you like?"

I take a deep breath and try to pick out any smells, but all I can smell is the ocean.

"Not yet. Let's go check out what St. Glo is serving."

We walk straight past Anzio's truck and Chi-Ha-Tan's carriages, ignoring Anzio's jeering that we 'don't know what real food is' and Chi-Ha-Tan's immaculate chow line that consists entirely of their students.

The closer to the Bedford trucks we get the easier it is to make out a sign on the rear doors of the mobile kitchens.

 _ **'No Darjeeling past this point!'**_

"Okay, there's gotta be a story behind that." I chortle, walking around to the service window. It's clear that St. Gloriana has put more forethought into their menu sign, because each menu item is printed in multiple languages, the largest of the prints being Japanese and English.

"Ooohh. Cottage pie sounds good…" I mumble to myself while retrieving my wallet from my back pocket.

When I step up to the window a short-haired brunette with a crown braid in a St. Gloriana uniform slides the glass partition to the side. "Hello! How can I help you?"

"One order of Cottage Pie please." I play innocent before handing the money up to her.

"Coming right up." She takes the money and slides the glass partition closed before yelling. "Rosehip! One order of Cottage pie! Quit messing around!"

Following a clatter of utensils the girl yells in frustration and disappears from view. A solid thirty seconds later a new pink-haired girl comes into view, holding a to-go box.

She argues with the other girl for a solid minute before sliding open the partition. "Here's your order! Hey wait… you're the new vice-commander for Saunders aren't you?"

 _'Oh shit I've been found out.'_

"Yeah, that's me. Kay's told me a bit about you girls from Saint Glo'. Aren't you one of the Crusader commanders?" I ask, probing for any sort of valuable information.

"Yeah! Or well… I used to be, but now-"

The brunette from earlier rushes back into view and clamps a hand over the girl's mouth. "Rosehip! Don't go giving away any secrets!"

The glass partition is quickly slid shut, and after a few seconds I can hear the brunette berating Rosehip before I chuckle and start walking away with Serena in tow. "Come on, let's go find Kay. She just let slip something big."

"Actually, I'm gonna go hang out with the girls. I'll catch you later."

I watch Serena jog off to the stepped seawall base and sit down with four others. They all welcome her warmly, some offering food from their plates or playfully snatching small pieces from the plate of person next to them. With a smirk I start back towards the Saunders trucks further down the beach. When I get there Kay is nowhere to be found, so I sit at one of the picnic tables that have been set up and eat my food in relative peace while conversing with some of the Saunders girls that I don't usually talk to. It's nothing but idle chatter, and after a while it dies out, along with my appetite. I toss what little is left of my food in the nearest trash can and start wandering down the beach, just looking for anyone I know.

"Christina-Sama!" I hear someone yell behind me before I get tackled.

 _'Who the hell?!'_

I could swear I know the voice, but at the same time I don't think I do, so I roll the person off of me and roll the opposite direction, putting some space between us.

When I sit up I almost instantly recognize the person, an old friend from the hospital.

"Sumiko?!"

"Hey there! It's been a while!"

I get up and brush myself off before offering her a hand up, which she gladly takes.

"Y-yeah. It's been about three years… how have you been?"

"I've been doing alright. I'm transferring to Saunders this next week!"

"Really? I thought you were homeschooled?" I ask, helping her get brushed off.

"I was, but I've really been wanting to get into Sensha-Dou, and my sister recommended Saunders. She used to go there, so I took her word for it."

"Oh yeah, how is your sister?"

"She's got it made. She got into the all-stars team a couple years back. She's around here too, helping one of her friends find their sister." Sumiko hugs me once she's cleaned off. "It feels so good to see you again."

"Likewise. How's your eye?" I ask while hugging her back.

"Useless. Sis' helped me pay for the surgery to get it removed and a glass one put in. I didn't like the mangled look, and neither did any of my friends." To prove her point she pulls up the eyepatch covering her right eye, revealing an eye that is a completely different color from her natural brown.

"Bummer. But what's with the heterochromia? Did they screw up on the color or something?" I ask as she covers the glass eye back up.

"Nah. I just thought gray would be cool. I still like it, it matches my sister's eyes." She responds as we start walking down the beach towards the Panther, where on the opposite side of the M151, a M26 Pershing is parked.

"Oh wow, it's been awhile since I last saw a Pershing up close." I muse, looking at how similar some things are between the front of the two tanks.

"Yeah, Sis' has been giving me training in all the crew positions. The only crew slot I can't fill is the gunner."

"I can imagine." I giggle. "I can't be the gunner on the Pershing or the Sherman because of the damn foot triggers."

"How are you doing on that by the way? Last time I saw you… you were still cursing up a storm trying to walk the track."

"It's almost like it's natural now. I'm doing my daily runs and working out like I've still got the real deal." I respond while we lean on the front slope of the Pershing.

"Awesome! I knew you'd get it down eventually!" She cheers.

"It's not that big of a deal. It's been more than two years now." I dismiss her praise with a wave of a hand and a shake of my head.

"Alright miss stubborn, then what's your tank and crew position?"

Just then, I hear the sound of a wrench being dropped, and turn my attention to the engine deck of the Panther, to see that the access covers are open.

"Hold that thought." I grumble, using Yukari's method of scaling the front slope to find Sako with her back to me on the engine deck, putting one of the carburetors back on.

I look around for something to drop on her before giving up and giving her a swift kick in the ass. She nearly faceplants on the engine and wheels around. "What the hell was… that… for… _aw shit_."

"You really want to get swapped out to a Chaffee don't you?" I snarl. "How many times do I have to tell you?! Quit fucking with the engine!"

She shys away while I scold her, and after another minute or two of yelling at her I leave her to get everything put back together and closed up. I slide down the front slope to Sumiko, who raises an eyebrow. "That was a bit extreme."

"I've already told her four times to knock it off. She keeps trying to upgrade the engine so she can get every bit of horsepower out of it, and I'm worried she's gonna break something that can't be fixed in a couple hours." I defend.

"Like what? It's a Panther, these things are awesome."

"False. These things are a lot more faulty than people think. Take it from me, this is the tank I command." I lean back onto the front slope, sitting on one of the mud guards.

"Eh? You? How long have you been at Saunders?"

"Officially? Beginning of this year. But during the summer break I always helped with keeping the tanks in top condition. I know this beast inside and out like the back of my hand." I pat the thick armor behind me a few times. "So when I finally got adopted by Kay she just gave me command of it."

"And how good of a commander are you?" Sumiko asks, looking me over.

"You'll have to find that out for yourself."

She scowls at me for a second before we both start giggling. "I see you haven't changed much."

I nod, looking down the beach as four people walk straight towards us, one of which being Kay. The other three look older, I guess university students, and that's confirmed by the all-star team logo on their berets.

"Hey Chris, have you seen your radio op?" Kay asks once they get closer.

I shake my head while adjusting my jacket. "Nope, I haven't seen anyone except for Sako since we dismounted."

I look at the other three, and my eyes settle on the gray-eyed brunette that moves towards me. "Hey Christina, it's been a while. You remember me?"

"Of course I do Megumi. It's hard to forget you." I tease, reaching out and shaking her hand. "The all-star team huh? I can't say I expected _you_ to get in."

"And I can't say I expected you to be doing tankery at all, but I guess we're both full of surprises." She responds with a smile before turning back towards her two comrades. "This is Azumi and Rumi, the other two company commanders."

"Pleasure to meet you both. Rumi… you look alot like my radio operator. Any relation?" I ask, noting the same hairstyle and hair color.

"Yes actually. She's my younger sister."

I raise both eyebrows in surprise, then giggle and shift to stand on the mudflap. "I might have a good idea as to where she is." I scale the slope and try to pull open the radio operator's hatch, only to find it's locked from inside. "Yep, just as I thought. Megumi! Open up! I know you're in there!"

The muffled response comes a few seconds later. "Not until Rumi goes away!"

The older sister laughs and walks up to the front slope. "If I may Miss Christina, would it be alright if I used another hatch?"

"Yeah go ahead. Commander's hatch is open." I giggle, watching the university girl bound up the slope and onto the turret with the agility of a rabbit. "Mind the binoculars on the seat."

From the way she drops down into the hatch I can tell she swung forward onto Tetsuki's seat. From there she probably dropped down into the hull and climbed over the shell collector, because seconds later Megumi's hatch is thrown open, and she scrambles out, still holding the book she was reading. The older sister follows close behind. "Get back here!"

* * *

We all watch the two siblings chase each other around for a while until Megumi manages to lose Rumi in the nearby crowd. Eventually we lose sight of both of them, and probably around five minutes later the radio operator comes jogging back, still holding her book.

"Is Rumi around here?"

"Not that I've seen." I respond, shrugging my shoulders.

"Good."

She climbs up the front slope of the Panther and starts to pull open her now-closed hatch before dropping it and jumping off, then sprinting down the beach.

We all stand there slightly confused for a second before the same hatch is pushed open and Rumi starts to climb out.

"Well, since she doesn't want to spend time with me, who wants to hear some funny stories about her?"

At first my respect for her as an excellent crewmember leans me towards saying no, but I eventually cave.

"Eh, why not?"


	10. Chapter 10: New in town

**[A/N]: Oh my Lord this chapter was a slog. I must've tried four different routes before I settled for this one.**

 **It's short, but the story needs to go on!**

 **Having said that, ONWARDS!**

* * *

 _"Alright Sako, start 'er up. Let's head home. Y'all can stay at our dorm tonight."_

 _"Got it."_

 _…_

 _"Aaand contact!"_

 _When the engine turns over I notice something doesn't sound right, and turn around to find almost the entire engine deck aflame._

 _"Shit! FIRE! Turn off the damn engine!" I yell, dropping down into my cupola before being handed a fire extinguisher by Tetsuki._

 _I clamber out of the cupola and start hosing the flames with the extinguisher while the others do the same. Eventually the flames are put out, and upon climbing back down into the tank I find Sako looking like a kicked puppy, expecting me to verbally lash her._

 _"Sako…" I sigh, putting my face in my hands._

 _"Y-y-yes Commander?"_

 _"You're in charge of making sure she's operational by the time I get back from the tournament drawing. If the Panther isn't in mint condition when I get back we'll decide your punishment then."_

 _"O-of course."_

 _"Megumi, get on the phone with the recovery team on the ship. Have them send a Dragon Wagon, since we're not going anywhere under our own power."_

 _"On it."_

* * *

 _*BZZZZT* *BZZZZT* *BZZZZT*_

Groaning I pull my phone out from under my head and shut off the alarm, rubbing my eyes while I sit up. I swing my leg out of bed and set to work putting on my prosthetic. Upon fitting it properly I set about the rest of my morning routine: pills, clothes, and hair care.

I start out of the bedroom to get breakfast before I trip on something soft, and look down to find Serena curled up in a sleeping bag on the floor.

 _'What the…? Oh, right. I told them they could all crash at our place for the night.'_

I look down the hall to find everyone else in various states of rest on the floor. Tama and Tetsuki chose to share a blanket while Serena used a sleeping bag from the jeep. The younger Megumi is in a sleeping bag with Rumi, being nearly smothered by her hungover older sister. Sumiko opted to take the couch and a blanket while leaving the older Megumi to fend for herself on the floor under the coffee table with a blanket.

Azumi is passed out in the recliner, covered only by her tankery jacket, and all four of Serena's crew members are passed out on the futon in the middle of the living room.

Sighing, I pick up Serena and carry her into the bedroom, laying her cocooned form on my bed before navigating through the maze of sleeping people in the hallway to the kitchen, where I start making breakfast. It's a simple meal, consisting entirely pre-packaged items and coffee. I've barely got enough for everyone, and they've barely got time to get out of our dorm before Kay and I have to report to the makeshift runway by the school.

Not caring about the hangovers the university students probably have I gather two pans and enter the living room before banging them together crudely. "Everyone get up! Up! Up!"

The university students all flinch and groan, with the older Megumi even sitting up quickly and bashing her head on the underside of the coffee table, while my classmates sit up one by one. The non-morning people like Tetsuki and Tama give me glares, but ultimately get up.

"Breakfast and coffee in the kitchen. One package per person please." I instruct.

Everyone slowly files into the kitchen and gets their 'rations', standing around grouchily as they consume the pastries. Thankfully Serena's crew seems like it's full of morning people, so I have them collect their stuff, their commander, her sister, and leave. Sumiko rounds up her older sister and her hungover colleagues, then leaves, promising she'll make it up to me for the mess left behind.

Tetsuki, Megumi, and Tama eventually drag themselves out, having snatched three of my precious energy drinks from the fridge.

Finally it's time for the last and possibly most difficult task of the day: waking up Kay.

I go into the bedroom and don't waste time with trying to shake her awake. This time 'plan E' becomes 'plan A'.

Cue the water bottle.

* * *

"Alright I get it! You didn't like my method of waking you up, but we were short on time!" I yell as we drive onto the airstrip, where the Saunders Airlift Squadron C-130J sits at the end, the ramp lowered.

"So long as you get the point! You ready to fly?!"

"Of course I am!"

"Good!" We slow down before Kay wheels around at the rear of the C-130 and backs up the ramp perfectly, stopping before she backs up into a M20 armored car. She turns off the engine and gets out before pulling a headset off the wall and tossing it to me. I barely start to ask what it's for when one of the engines outside roars to life, drowning out my question as my cue to put the headset on.

 _{Let's get this jeep strapped down.}_ She orders.

"Roger."

I climb out and grab the nearest D-ring that is bolted to the floor, holding it up while Kay attaches a come-along to a hard point on the jeep, and then hooks onto the ring.

After she completes tightening down the ratchet we perform the same task three more times, then head up to the cockpit, where Alisa and Naomi sit.

"Welcome aboard Chris!" Naomi cheers, throwing a wave over her shoulder while Kay sits in the pilot's seat and starts helping her with the startup.

"Morning Naomi." I respond while looking around for a spot to sit.

"There's a seat across from Alisa's station, that's the Radar Operator's station, but don't touch anything please." Kay fluidly flips switches and turns dials while speaking, not looking away from her task for even a second.

"Got it Sis."

With a yawn I sit down in the seat, and upon finding it really comfortable and well-padded I strap myself in for the ride and decide another couple hours of rest are in order.

* * *

 _*SPLASH!*_

I wake up rather suddenly, sputtering and coughing with a familiar feeling on my face, hair, and shirt.

"Damn it Kay! You didn't need to do that!" I yell, wiping water out of my eyes.

"Sure I did! Consider us even after this morning."

I glare at her for a second before groaning. "Fine. Let me change my shirt before we go."

I get out of my chair and leave the cabin, climbing down the staircase, which leads to the cargo bay. I find my new duffel bag in the jeep, and grab a fresh shirt from it before drying my hair off with my old one.

After I'm done getting changed and dried I grab my day pack from the jeep and move it to the M20.

"Okay! So our first order of business is swinging by that place to get your prosthetic fixed." Kay informs me as she starts removing all the chains holding the vehicles in place.

"Sounds good. Where are we staying the night?"

"There's a hotel that's reserved by the tankery federation. Naomi and Alisa are heading to Maebashi to pick up some spare parts for the Unicorn, and they'll be spending the night there. So there will be enough beds for us tonight."

"Oh, alright."

We get the vehicles unhooked from the plane and drive them off, with Naomi and Alisa taking the jeep after Kay and I get our stuff transferred to the M20.

* * *

Having loaded up and left the airport Kay and I head to the manufacturer where my other prosthetic was made. We park out front and I shoulder my bag before jumping out.

I've been here before, but it was when I was first learning to walk with a prosthetic. I was very adamant that I wanted to see mine get made, mainly so I could know how to fix stuff like the ankle joint. I learned a lot that day, and now that I'm back it feels kinda nostalgic.

Upon entering I approach the service desk, where a woman in her early thirties sits, happily reading a book until she notices me, then she smiles even wider and sits up, bookmarking her page. "Hello! How can I help you?"

"Hello. I need some repairs done." I respond, offering a friendly smile.

"Of course. Can I have your name please?"

"Christina Schultz. It's been awhile since I was last here."

She types my name into the computer and nods. "I'll say. You've been due for remeasuring for over a year now. Would you like to do that while you're here?"

"Yes please. Might as well."

"Excellent, please follow me."

She stands up and waves us along, leading the way through a set of double doors, then down a long hallway, to a door on the right.

"Here we are! Please wait in here and a technician will be with you shortly!"

"Thank you very much." I bow respectfully to her prior to entering the room, only sliding the door closed once Kay is inside.

"So… what now?" Kay asks, sitting down in the lightly padded chair in the corner.

"Now? We wait."

* * *

The entire measuring process takes a half hour, and then we get to go to the observation room and watch my new prosthetics be made. As a replacement for the one that broke I'm offered a new model, with included shock absorbers built into the calf. It's an experimental system that they hadn't been able to properly test due to a lack of volunteers, so I figured I might as well give it a try.

The entire manufacturing process takes just short of three hours, then assembly and fitting takes half that. By 1730 Kay and I are out the door, and she's looking at me like I just told her that she looks like a guy.

"What?" I ask.

"You literally just spent half a million Yen. Don't 'what' me. Where did you get that kind of money?"

I sigh and shrug after climbing up onto the M20. "Settlement money."

"... How much do you have?"

"Not nearly enough." I snap, having been asked this question in the past. "... To answer directly though, I have roughly five million Yen left in savings."

"Wha- how is that 'not enough'?!"

"We're talking about putting a price on my dead parents and a piece of my body! No matter how much they gave me it would _never_ be enough!"

Kay recoils slightly at my outburst, causing me to stop where I am and check my attitude. "... Sorry… money's not something I like talking about."

"No it's fine, I was the one who pried. It wasn't my place to ask-"

"Stop that. We're family now, and you had a right to know. I just didn't know how to break it to you." I snap at her, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"Alright, sorry. Now I know, so let's go get something to eat."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

The next morning Kay and I get dressed in our best tankery uniforms, going through our morning routine as we normally would. Then, at noon, we load up the M20 with our bags and set about the commute to the beginner bracket selection, parking out back among other familiar surplus vehicles, including a Cromwell "Kangaroo" personnel carrier, trucks, and multiple half tracks of various national origins.

"So, do you want to draw? Or do you want me to do it?" Kay asks after we get into the bleachers and sit down.

"I have no clue what to do, so you do it. Whatever you do don't pick Ooarai." I wink at her jokingly before my phone starts going off. I pull it out of my jacket pocket and answer, plugging my other ear with my finger so I can hear.

"Hello?"

 _{Hello? Is this Christina Schultz? I'm Kaylee Schultz, your aunt?}_ A feminine voice asks in English, clearly uncomfortable and nervous.

"Oh, hello! It's nice to finally talk to you! Are you in Japan now?"

 _{Yes we are. We're actually up above you somewhere on the bleachers. Could you stand up?}_

"Of course!"

I stand up and turn around, looking up at the massive crowd gathered as people file into the amphitheater. Out of the corner of my eye I catch the movement of someone waving, and direct my attention to a skinny chestnut-haired woman with a phone held to her ear.

"I see you. I'll be up in a minute!"

I hang up the phone and jam it in my jacket pocket before turning to Kay. "I'm going to go sit with my aunt. That way when this is over we can meet up at the M20."

"Sounds good! I'll see you there!" She chirps happily, flashing me a thumbs-up.

I sidestep my way down the row and jog up the aisle to the row she's sitting in, walking down the mostly empty row of chairs to her with a smile plastered on my face. "Welcome to Japan!"

"Thank you. It's nice to meet you again. You were so little when I last saw you!"

We skip the formalities and go straight for a hug, holding it only for a brief moment before she breaks from it and motions to the girl dozing off beside her, who has a striking resemblance to the woman. "This is your cousin Alison."

"It's nice to meet you. I know you both must be exhausted from the flight."

"It's well worth getting to meet you." Alison smiles back as a tankery federation instructor walks up onto the stage. We all take our seats and listen as she goes through a gigantic speech. I listen attentively, making note of anything she says are changes.

Then towards the end of her speech she starts to wrap things up.

 _"The bracket this year has been enlarged, and the Sensha-Dou federation would like to thank Saunders Girls High School for helping small schools procure tanks to participate with."_

Applause breaks out throughout the amphitheater, and she calls the first school, Maple High school.

As the school's representatives go up front I notice Alison paying good attention, occasionally looking up stuff on her phone. I eventually catch that it's an English-Japanese dictionary.

"Alison, do you speak any Japanese?" I ask as Kay goes up front, waving and hamming it up for the cameras.

"Yeah. I've taken three years of it, but there's still a lot I don't know."

"Saunders Girls High School will be fighting Chi-Ha-Tan Girls Academy in the qualifiers!" The announcer applauds, being joined in by the rest of the crowd as Kay waves one last time and walks back off stage.

Then, my phone vibrates with a text message.

[Kay: This is taking a lot longer than it normally does. Round 'em up and meet me out back. We've gotta bounce.]

[Me: Kk, en route.]

I shove my phone back in my pocket and look to the two sitting next to me. "We need to go. Follow me."

Alison nods and shakes my Aunt's shoulder, bringing her back from the edges of sleep. They stand up and follow me up the aisle, then down the hall to the service entrance that Kay and I came in through.

* * *

We find Kay sitting on the back of the M20, and after a short few minutes getting them on and situated we're off to the airport, having learned that Alisa and Naomi met them at the baggage claim, taking their bags to the plane so they didn't have to carry them around everywhere.

"I'm really sorry for not coming sooner! Money's been tight lately and-!" My aunt yells over the sound of the engine, I cut her off before she can finish her sentence.

"It's actually a good thing you took so long! I've gotten to meet so many cool people! So don't worry about it!"

She smiles in response, and I can tell I've said the right thing to put her at ease. From my spot standing in the ring for the anti-aircraft mount I can see the entire interior of the vehicle, and all of our surroundings. However, in Tokyo there isn't much to see, just skyscrapers and traffic. We probably get another four blocks before Alison wakes up from a brief nap and looks up at me from her spot in the floorboards. "Hey Christina, why does your tankery jacket say 'fear the unicorn'? There's gotta be a meaning behind it, right?"

"Oh, that? It's a design by my crew. You'll understand when we get aboard the carrier."

* * *

"Welcome to Saunders you two! One of the richest schools in Japan!" I cheer as the ramp lowers after Naomi parked the plane. Immediately the first thing that sits in view is the Panther, with all four of my crew sitting on top of it, waiting for us. Beside them sits a Chaffee, two M36B1 tank destroyers, and some Shermans. All look ready for a skirmish, and once we drive out of the plane the crew of ' _Unicorn_ ' all clamber into the tank, quickly starting up before falling in line behind us.

The roar of the Maybach engine is a welcome relief after the recent breakdown, and it even brings a smile to Kay's face as we lead the way through the streets to the dorm.

"Alison! That's the Unicorn! Does my jacket make sense now?"

"Yeah! It's really intimidating!" She yawns back, looking exhausted, but also still interested.

"Once we get you used to the time zone we'll see if you can come along with us on some exercises!"

Upon seeing my aunt's scowl I know that won't happen with her knowledge.

 _'Good thing practice is on a need-to-know basis'_

"Chris!" Kay calls over her shoulder, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Yes!?"

"Keys are on the seat next to me! I'm going to go take this back to the school once we get offloaded!"

"I've got my own keys! Put yours back in your pocket or you'll forget them!" I respond, ducking out of the anti-aircraft ring and grabbing my backpack. I slip it on my shoulders and grab my duffel, along with Alison's bag, as we pull up in front of the house. The scout car rolls to a stop, and behind us Unicorn pulls in, the stop being slightly more abrupt than ours.

After Sako shuts down the engine she climbs out of her hatch with an awkward grin. "Well, the new brakes work!"

I sigh and shake my head with a grin as I climb off the M20, placing the bags on the ground to first take more as Kay passes them to me, and then to instruct Alison and my aunt on how to get down the more joint-friendly way.

We all grab our bags as my crew walk over. Tetsuki offers to carry my Aunt's bag, and that's where we run into our first snag. My Aunt looks at her with a confused expression while Alison walks up the stairs with Sako and Megumi.

Then it dawns on me. Tetsuki asked in Japanese, _not_ English.

"Aunt Kaylee, you don't speak any Japanese, do you?" I ask.

"No I don't. None at all."

"Oh. That's… problematic."

"How so?"

"Tetsuki doesn't speak any English. She was asking if she could carry your bag for you."

"Oh um… no thank you, I'll get it."

I relay the message, and Tetsuki bows in apology before my aunt starts up the stairs. I follow close behind, and at the top of the steps I find Megumi and Sako standing there impatiently with Alison.

"Come on, we're gonna be late to practice!" Sako whines in Japanese.

"We'll be fine. Kay's holding practice for another half hour." I respond before unlocking the door and pushing it open. I stride in as I normally do and drop my bag by the bedroom door as my crew pass me, heading into the living room. I wave my aunt and Alison in, and direct them into the living room, where Kay and I put two futons before we left.

"Is this what we're sleeping on?" Kaylee asks, motioning towards the futon after putting down her bag.

"Yes. Well, it's that or the hide-a-bed in the couch. I'm sorry we don't have any actual beds for you."

"Would it be possible to…?" She motions towards the futon, then at the couch where the fold-out bed is hidden under the cushions.

"Move the futon onto the bed? Yes. I'd actually recommend it." I giggle. "If you'd like, we can get your beds set up, and you can sleep until Kay and I get back from practice tonight. I'll fix dinner then, and you can sleep until we get up for school tomorrow."

"That sounds great." Alison yawns, her response being bolstered by Kaylee yawning.

I quickly boot Megumi off the couch and move the coffee table before removing the cushions from the couch and extending the fold-out bed. Within seconds of it being fully folded out Tetsuki and Tama grab one of the futons and drag it on, placing the cushions so they function as pillows while Sako and Megumi pull the blankets into position.

In less than fifteen seconds the bed is ready, and the turret crew exchange high-fives with the hull-dwellers as my aunt and cousin stare in surprise.

"That was really fast." Alison mumbles in surprise.

"And they didn't say a word to each other." Kaylee mutters in amazement.

"If there's one thing that Sensha-Dou helps with, it's group coordination!" Sako boasts in English.

"Yeah yeah. Come on Sako, go get Unicorn ready to go. We'll be out in a bit." I grumble, shooing her towards the door.

"Yes ma'am!" Sako chirps, running out the door.

I giggle and head into the bedroom, changing into my field uniform before heading back into the living room.

"Here's some Yen and my house key in case you two want to explore." I tell the nearly asleep Americans before laying said objects on the counter and grabbing an energy drink from the fridge.

"Alright! Let's go see how these new Jacksons stack up!"


	11. Chapter 11: First to fight! Saunders!

**[A/N]: Wow, it's been awhile since I last updated eh? I won't bore y'all with the details now, but be sure to read the author's note at the end.**

 **Without further delay, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _[square brackets and italics mean command radio communications]_

 _{These funky brackets with_ italics _mean intercom communications}_

 **[Underlined stuff with square brackets and bold means text messages]**

 _'Thoughts'_

"Dialogue"

* * *

 ** _*BZZZT* *BZZZT* *BZZZT*_**

"Owwww…" I whine, sitting up in bed.

A quick glance down at my shoulders and arms confirms what I had already known. My arms are _covered_ in bruises, suffered while receiving multiple 90mm hits last night, courtesy of the new M36B1 tank destroyers, the platoon of which being led by Naomi.

Slowly, I set about my normal morning routine, taking care of medications and hygiene before waking Kay up. Once the blonde beast is awakened I get dressed in the school uniform and make sure my bag is ready before heading into the living room, where surprisingly Alison is awake.

"Good morning. You're up early."

"Not really. Japan is thirteen hours ahead of home. Besides, I set an alarm." She yawns.

"So, _why_ are you up this early?" I ask, pulling an energy drink out of the fridge.

"Well, you guys have morning practice, right?"

"Yes we do. Wanna come along?"

She gives a sheepish nod in response, and I stifle a giggle, pulling a second energy drink out of the fridge and passing it to her. "Welcome aboard."

"Thank you. Do I need to bring anything specific?"

"Nope, just bring a jacket, it's supposed to rain for the next few days." I say while grabbing breakfast. Having completed my morning routine, I toss Alison a breakfast bar and head towards the bedroom, munching on mine.

"And now to wake up Kay… again."

* * *

 **[Sako: We're outside waiting for you]**

 **[Me: Aw crap! Sorry! Kay won't get up!]**

 **[Megumi: I'll radio for Alisa to come get her up.]**

 **[Me: On our way out. Alison is coming along.]**

 **[Sako: Sweet. Starting up.]**

* * *

"Just follow my lead, it's really easy to get up on!" I yell over the sound of the Maybach before jumping up onto the mudguard, then putting a foot on the bulge for the hull MG, and finally hoisting myself up onto the hull roof.

Looking behind me, Alison looks apprehensive at first, but follows suit, being slightly more agile in the motion since she doesn't have a bag of schoolwork and an extra change of clothes.

We move to the engine deck, and I briefly pull my intercom handset from my cupola. "Let's go."

 _{Copy that! Moving out!}_

* * *

"Faster! Come on, push it! Tank left!"

 _{Gun loaded!}_

"All stop! Left stick!"

As the tank lurches to a stop Tetsuki stiffens, and as it swings around the gun fires, ejecting the spent casing into the crew compartment.

"Nice shot! Target hit!" I cheer, clapping Tetsuki on the shoulder. In return she lets out a sigh of relief and leans back against my legs.

 _{How long until classes start?}_ Tama asks, pushing the shell casing down into the shell collector.

"Twenty minutes. Let's head back to school. All our rounds are expended anyways."

 _{'Kaaaay.}_

 _{Make it quick too Sako! I need a shower.}_ Tama yells, making most of us wince before Megumi's quiet voice filters through my headset.

 _{Chris, Kay is on channel two for you.}_

"Thank you Megumi."

Flipping a small switch that changes my headset over to the radio I click the microphone forward. "Well look who decided to finally get out of bed!"

 _{Yeah yeah. We've got a meeting at lunch on what we're going to do in the battle against Chi-Ha-Tan. Make sure you're there.}_

"Okay. Where is the meeting being held?"

 _{Tank garage. We're dressing the tanks up for the battle, so you can help if you want.}_

"Alright, I'll be there."

 _{Sweet! That's all I've got, see you in class!}_

Switching back over to the intercom I stick my head out of my hatch and listen to everyone else bicker while they change into their school clothes. Most of us simply shucking the pair of coveralls and cleaning our hands and faces, having worn our uniforms underneath the coveralls.

"Back to the daily grind." I mumble to myself, eyeing the storm clouds in the distance.

 _{Alison's to our front. Should we stop?}_

"Yes. Halt. Let's give her a ride."

Instead of lurching to a stop Sako actually slows down reasonably smoothly, pulling to a stop by Alison, who's garbed in my rain poncho with a pair of binoculars. I pull my headset off and climb out of the hatch, giving her a hand up onto the engine deck.

"Have fun?" I ask, climbing back down into my hatch.

"Yeah! You guys are amazing!" She huffs, out of breath from running.

"Glad you think so. We could be better." I respond before putting my headset back on. "Sako! Forward!"

 _{On the move!}_ We lurch forward and quickly accelerate, roaring down the narrow roads down to the school. Alison jumps off before the gate, and I wave goodbye as we pull into the garage.

Inside, people are finishing up maintenance on their tanks. Serena waves to me as Sako shuts off the engine, and just as we all climb out someone yells a five minute warning until classes start.

The sound of tools hitting the floor rings out all across the garage as everyone stops what they're doing and runs out, knowing that there's no excuse for being late.

As I jump down and grab my bag, Sumiko jogs up to me, and together we run towards the school building.

"I had an idea to help with the team! I'll talk to you about it later!"

"Sounds good! See you after class!"

* * *

As lunch approaches I find myself watching the clock more and more. Sumiko gives me a wink right before the bell goes off, and as everyone gathers their stuff those of us in Tankery jump up and rush out, jamming our books in our bags as we run to the garage.

"So what's your brilliant idea?" I ask Sumiko, who keeps good pace beside me.

"Maybe there could be two Pershing's with the Panther? That way you have a command or a heavy vehicle element."

"...That might work for later matches, but against Chi-Ha-Tan I don't think it's necessary. I'll talk to Kay about it."

"That's all I ask."

When we run into the garage we find everyone gathered around a couple tables of food. Those who already have food move to their respective tanks and sit down near or on them, eating as students from the Agriculture Club wheel in pallets of sandbags with the help of a forklift. A quick glance from the rest of my crew confirms what I was thinking: we are not sandbagging the Panther. Over at the Chaffee's the two crews finish eating and get out the paint, setting about putting on a simple jagged tricolor camouflage, making sure that the Saunders markings are still easily noticeable. Everyone else sets about organizing the sandbags on their tanks. Some put simple wooden planks on the side and bolt them down, making a very interesting arrangement of tanks.

Naomi and her platoon of tank destroyers put a new camouflage paint scheme on, followed by false foliage over their sandbags. We don't use any sandbags, but we gratuitously camouflage the tank, adding splotches of grey and tan to our paint scheme. Heat lamps and fans speed up the drying process, and just as we're putting the final touches on the Unicorn on the turret cheeks Kay waves me up to the office for planning.

* * *

"So our opponents are Chi-Ha-Tan. They have the home field advantage, we're fighting in a jungle environment. Alisa, tell us what we know." Kay starts, relaxing on the couch watching the PowerPoint presentation on the wall.

"Right." Alisa chirps, getting up to stand by the projector. "As we all know from previous years, Chi-Ha-Tan isn't the most sound in terms of command structure, and they often resort to head-on cavalry-style attacks. Last year they used Ha-Go light tanks, Chi-Ha medium tanks, and Chi-Ha-ShinHoTo medium tanks. However, this year we gave them funding for an improvement package. We don't know what they bought with it, but given their… suicidal tendencies, I would guess it's something with good mobility." She scrolls through the presentation, showing a picture of Chi-Ha's charging, then scrolling through essentially mugshots of the tanks we know they have. Then a few pictures of suspected vehicles show up, including a Chi-Nu, a Ho-Ni-III, and a Ho-Ni-II, the latter two of the three being a pair of very nasty tank destroyers. Then Alisa ends the powerpoint with a sigh. "Thankfully there's not much they can bring out. So unless they've pulled out one of their heavy tanks in the first match, we can be relatively confident they don't have anything too difficult to deal with."

Kay leans forward as Naomi spreads a topographic map across the table, revealing the battle area in the Philippines.

"Alright. On this field there are two starting points. The first of which being down on the beach near San Agustin. The other is waaay over in the center of the island."

"Big field then. Awesome." I hum contentedly, noting the contour lines and the roads.

"Not big by standards of what we'll be fighting in later on in the tournament, but fairly decently sized." Kay replies with a shrug. "What will our plan be, oh fearless field commander?"

"Well…" I start, looking at the map while idly curling a lock of hair around my finger. "Do we have any aerial photos to go along with these?"

"We should shortly. One of the U-2's is getting them now." Naomi responds, glancing over towards a radio set in the corner.

"Hmmm… Maybe.." I mumble to myself, scouring the contour lines. "We can presume if they don't charge right at us then they'll be waiting in ambush. If I was going to set up an ambush… it'd be along here." I drag my finger along a spot where the only road out of our starting point sits between two ridges. "The Chi-Ha has good gun depression in both variants, and given their good mobility they'd be able to make it in time to catch us on our way out."

"Don't you think you're maybe overthinking this? They aren't very good." Alisa challenges as I think about a response to an ambush.

My jaw falls open as I look at her, remembering the sheer amount of times in the past few weeks she's underestimated my capabilities. "Oh? They aren't very good? Have you forgotten that things can change in a year?! I bet you after they helped Oarai fight the All-Stars they took what they learned and started teaching off of it! Mark my words!"

She recoils at my outburst, putting her hands at shoulder-height in submission. "Alright, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just asking a question."

I look back to the map and scrutinize the contour lines some more before the radio set in the corner crackles to life.

 _{Cowhand, Aspen. Come in, over.}_

Kay jumps up and runs over, grabbing the microphone. "This is Cowhand, send it."

 _{We've got those pictures you asked for, just in time too. The weather's rolling in. They've been emailed to you, and we're on our way back. Over}_

Kay flashes me a thumbs-up before she responds. "Roger that Aspen. Thank you very much, see you in class. Cowhand out."

"I thought your callsign was Wrustler?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"It is, Cowhand is Alisa's."

"It's a stupid callsign…" Alisa mumbles, crossing her arms.

"Deal with it. Now get those pictures pulled up." Kay orders before the bell ending lunch rings out, spurring us all into motion. I jump up, grab my bag, and run out, leaping over the railing, onto the turret of Kay's sherman below, and then jumping off of that, running out of the garage with Sumiko hot on my heels.

"You ready for the test?" She asks.

"There's a test?!"

"Yeah…?"

"Aw crap!"

* * *

 _ ***Two Days later***_

 _*BZZZT*_

 _*BZZZT*_

 _*BZZZT*_

Reveille spouts in my ear as my phone vibrates. I leave the music to play and sit up, going through my morning routine despite it being still dark outside. Kay is up by the time I'm done, more to shut up my alarm than anything else, but she knows there can't be any messing around today. We both get into our tankery uniforms and make sure we pack our rain ponchos. Once I take my meds I head out to the kitchen to find breakfast already made, with my aunt and Alison both dressed, each nursing a travel cup of coffee.

"Don't forget your rain jackets. It's supposed to be nasty today." I warn them, dishing my plate up with eggs, potatoes, sausage, and bacon. All mixed together to create a delicious cocktail of flavor that has helped us wake up early on several occasions since my aunt's arrival a week ago.

"We've got ours packed. Is Kay up?" Kaylee responds, looking towards the hall.

"Yep. She'll be out in a minute. She's just sending out wake up calls to the other tank commanders." I respond as I pull an energy drink out of the fridge and crack it open, taking a drink before unceremoniously digging into my breakfast. Thanking them for the food prior to the first bite of course.

Kay emerges a minute later and shovels some food onto her plate, following suit.

* * *

By 0430 we're all out the door, having put the top up on the jeep last night. We drive to the garage, and the two Americans stay in the jeep as we check on our tanks. For this battle we opted for mostly short-barreled 75mm variants, with Naomi's Firefly, Alisa's M4A1(76), and Kay's M4A3(76) being the exceptions. The _Unicorn_ is prepped and ready, and to my surprise I find everyone lounging around, waiting for me.

"You took your time!" Sako teases, grinning at me from her seat atop the gun mantlet.

"Did not! Are all the participating tankers here?"

"Yeah. Alisa got here right before you did." Tama responds, nursing her energy drink.

"Good. Mount up, it's time to disembark!"

Everyone scrambles into the tank. Tama chugs the last of her energy drink and throws it into a nearby trash can from the engine deck and celebrates with a whoop as she swings herself into the hatch on the turret rear. I climb up and drop into my hatch, swinging it into open-protected just as Sako starts the engine. Further down the line two Chaffee's and seven Sherman's rumble to life, with Serena's Chaffee leading the way out, evident by the waterproof canvas-covered acoustic guitar on the turret side.

Two standard M4A2's follow her out, then Naomi's Firefly. We creep out of the garage and fall in line behind Naomi, with Kay's Sherman behind us, the other Shermans behind her, and the second Chaffee taking up the rear.

Various trucks slot in behind the last Chaffee, carrying our ammunition, and behind them are multiple jeeps and covered half-tracks, carrying families and friends to cheer us on during the match.

This gigantic convoy of vehicles rumbles down main street, to the ramp that drops us down into the hull of the ship, then to the disembarkation ramp. Immediately after we disembark from the carrier however, we drive to the beach, and then load our tanks up into LST's for transport to the battlefield.

All of the tank commanders stay ashore and get a ride to the spectator area via Osprey, with an adult Airlift Division instructor at the controls.

Upon our arrival we meet with the judges and the commanders from Chi-Ha-Tan, holding the meeting under a covered area as the judge explains the match parameters. Once she's done we bow to each other, and march past the stands where hundreds of people are cheering for both us and Chi-Ha-Tan despite the rain, then mount back up in the Osprey, which takes us to the LST's.

* * *

Half of us dismount on LST 1, knowing which one our tanks are on, and while the Osprey takes the others to LST 2 I head below, to the narrow gangplank along the side of the vehicle bay. From there I jump onto Unicorn and climb in my hatch, swinging it closed.

"Hey Chris. Want in on a bit of cards?" Tama asks from the floor, where everyone is sitting, each holding a couple cards in their hands.

"What are we playing?"

"Blackjack."

I take off my poncho and get down on the floor with them. "Sure."

"Check out these cards I got too, they're tank-oriented."

* * *

"Hit." I order, watching Tama as she pulls a card off the top of the deck and turns it over, handing the Queen of hearts to me. I groan and flip over my other cards, revealing a Jack of spades and a seven of clubs. "I bust."

Sako snorts and asks for another card, then groans, flipping hers over to reveal a ten of hearts and a jack of clubs, having received a two of hearts.

"You seriously hit on that?" Tama laughs, looking to Tetsuki, who stays, and Megumi, who hits, receiving an ace of clubs.

"Twenty-one." Megumi states calmly, just before there's a sound of boots on the turret roof, and my hatch is swung open, revealing Naomi.

"Five minutes until match starts, two until landing. Get ready."

"You heard her Tama, stow the cards and make ready. Sako, get the starter spinning. Megumi get me the command net."

"On it Chris." Megumi hums, setting down her cards and getting back into her seat, putting her headset on and pulling a plug out of one of the inserts, plugging it back into a different one while Tama collects all the cards from the turret floor and puts them back in the packaging. "You're good once we get power."

"Thank you."

"You're quite welcome."

Over the growing whine of the starter I hear a metal-esque cord get repeated with an interesting background over the tank deck's speakers, and I see Tama and Sako start grinning, the latter rolling her shoulders as the music takes a turn for the metal side of music. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"I've never heard this song before." I mutter.

"Blue Stahli is the band, the song is called 'Reload'." Tama replies, tapping her foot on the floor. "Kay's trying to get everyone amped up."

"Usually not my type of music, but it is getting me kind of hyped up." Megumi says with a grin, opening up the feed tray on her MG34.

"Let's give it our all, girls!" Tetsuki cheers, getting up into her seat just as the whine of the starter reaches its peak and Sako engages it, starting the engine.

"Tama, close your hatch please."

 _{Sure thing.}_

I put on my rain poncho, swinging my hatch to the open-protected position before the LST lurches to a halt.

Due to the long barrel of the Panther, the gun is oriented to the rear, meaning if I want to look to the front of the tank I have to sit in an uncomfortable position, with my body turned to the right and my legs pressed against the recoil guard. Thankfully I don't have to sit like that for long, the front of the ship opens, and the ramp drops. Being the third tank in line, we wait for Serena's Chaffee and Naomi's Firefly to move out of the way, then once they're clear of the ramp I adjust my headset and put on my helmet.

"Sako, forward slow."

Our movement starts off with a gentle lurch, and you can feel the individual track links as they pound against the steel underneath us. When we start down the ramp Sako floors the throttle, and we charge down through several feet of water before clawing our way up the beach.

"'Suki, gun front,"

 _{Yes ma'am.}_ The gunner responds, using the high RPM's of the engine to quickly traverse the gun to face forwards.

Looking off to our right I see Kay's Sherman roll down the ramp of the other LST, followed by another Sherman, while being led by a Chaffee. My phone goes off in my pocket, and I pull it out to find a message from Hartmann.

 **[Congrats on your first amphibious landing! We're watching the match. Give 'em hell little lady!]**

"Hartmann says 'good luck'." I giggle, stowing my phone.

 _{Luck? We don't need luck, we've got skill!}_ Sako replies, earning a cheer of agreement from all of us.

 _[Wrustler one here. Check in.]_ Kay orders over the command channel.

 _[Cowhand, checking in.]_

 _[Birddog one and two, checking in!]_

 _[Gunslinger, checking in.]_

"Sheriff, checking in."

 _[Wrustlers two through five checking in.]_

Serena's Chaffee takes the lead of the column as we roll off the beach, followed by Wrustler 2, a M4A3(75)W. Behind them, Naomi falls into formation, with us close behind her. Two more Shermans slot in behind us, then Kay and Alisa, another Sherman behind them, with the second Chaffee taking up the rear, being the flag tank.

As we reach an orange flag stuck in the mud alongside the road, we halt, waiting for the match to start.

"Time for all that training to pay off. Megumi, how's the radio sounding?"

 _{I've got the intercom in my left ear, and the judge net in my right. All set here.}_

"Perfect. Sako, temperatures?"

 _{Nominal. Green across the board, though I had a bit of water come in my hatch.}_

"Good. 'Suki, how's the gun?"

 _{All ready to go here. Just waiting on a target.}_

"Tama, index AP. Load when the match starts."

 _{Copy that!}_

 _[Sheriff, Wrustler One. Did you check to see if Alisa was using an interception balloon?]_ Kay asks.

 _[Gunslinger here. I can confirm that Alisa is NOT using an interception balloon. Her tank doesn't have the equipment mounted.]_

 _[Roger that. Thank you. Wrustler One, out.]_

I snicker at Kay's cautious but rightful assumption that Alisa is trying to cheat. It's well known amongst the team that Alisa wants victory, and will go to far lengths to achieve it.

 _{Match countdown. One minute until start.}_ Megumi informs us. I can see her moving around in her seat, and duck my head down more to find both her and Tama loading belts of ammunition into the MG34's.

 _{Thirty seconds.}_

Pulling the hood up on my poncho I swing my hatch open and stand up, making sure my binoculars are easily accessible before turning around with my phone and snapping a picture of the column. I quickly scrutinize the picture and smile before putting my phone back in my pocket.

 _{Ten seconds.}_

Sako impatiently revs the engine as all the other tank commanders open their hatches and expose themselves to the rain.

 _{GoPro's recording.}_ Tetsuki reports, having set up the small camera in the upper front left corner of the turret.

 _{Match start!}_

"Load AP. Make ready for contact!"

 _{Loading complete!}_ Tama yells. From my spot with my head out of the tank I can still see her bending over and pulling another AP round from the hull sponson, cradling it like a small child.

 _[All tanks, steady on. Forward, march!]_ Kay orders in her usual cheerful voice, spurring the tanks in front of us into motion.

"Sako, forward. Keep pace with the others."

The driver revs the engine one more time and shifts into gear, getting a slow start, but in a matter of seconds we're easily keeping pace with the lighter Shermans, tearing up the muddy road with our heavy treads. The incessant rain starts coming down even harder the further into the jungle we get, and before long I can hardly see Serena's Chaffee in the downpour. The further we drive into the match area, the more each large bush starts looking like a Chi-Ha. The trees seem to play mind games, and on multiple occasions I have to do a double-take on a bush, or a log.

* * *

Ten nerve-wracking minutes later, we're driving down a straight stretch with open areas on either side of the road. I take a moment to duck inside the turret for a drink of water, thinking things are safe as I uncap the canteen and take a swig. I'm almost instantly proved wrong when there's a thundering of guns all around us. I jerk my head up while hurriedly screwing the cap back on the canteen, seeing Serena's Chaffee turned diagonally in the road with the immobilization flag sticking out of the turret roof.

 _[Contact! Ambush!]_ Wrustler Two yells before the tank lurches to the side, the immobilization flag popping out of the turret as it starts smoking from the engine deck. My adrenaline spikes, feeling like an ice-cold slap in the face as I look around, trying to spot targets.

 _[Wrustler Two and Birddog One are out! Back up!]_ Naomi orders, the 17 pounder of her Firefly roaring in defiance.

 _{'Suki, target, two-thirty! Tank!}_ Tama yells, looking through her small periscope.

"This is Sheriff, all units reverse!" I bark into my handset.

 _{On target!}_

"Fire!" I yell, just as a shell bounces off our front hull. The subsequent gentle lurch from the tank and the sound of the empty shell casing dropping into the collector is a familiar and exciting feeling, which is only bolstered by Megumi's voice a few seconds later.

 _{Confirmed! One Chi-He destroyed!}_

 _{Gun ready!}_

"Nice shot!" I congratulate, glancing behind us. "Sako, reverse. Straight back!"

Another shot bounces off the turret cheek and careens into the woods behind us, giving me my nonverbal cue to get back down inside the turret. I swing my hatch cover into the open-protected position and carefully scan the trees, spotting a big muzzle brake sticking out of the underbrush, seemingly aimed straight at my cupola.

"Target, tank! Eleven o'clock!"

Tetsuki quickly slews the turret onto target, scanning the trees at our eleven o'clock, struggling to spot what I'm talking about with her highly magnified gun sight. Eventually I put my foot on her back and guide her onto the target, finally hearing her confirmation.

 _{Target acquired!}_

"Fire!"

The tank rocks again, and I can start to smell the fumes as the shell drops into the collector with a clatter. Each breath in through my nose brings the heavy smell of cordite, and I sit up straight in my seat, getting a breath of fresh air from my partially-opened hatch.

 _{Target hit! Ho-Ni III knocked out!}_ Megumi cheers, scratching a second tally mark on a notepad with her pencil.

"Sheriff reporting one times Chi-He destroyed and one times Ho-Ni destroyed." I report calmly, our tank having backed into the more sheltered section of road.

 _[Wrustler one copies. One times Chi-He and one times Ho-Ni. Good work.]_

 _{Ready up!}_ Tama yells, having taken her time loading.

 _[Sheriff, what's the plan?]_

"Birddog, find a nice spot and get yourselves camouflaged. The rest of us are repositioning to point zero-five-nine. Bound back to the fork of the road in pairs, last group will be a group of three."

 _[Birddog copies, making tracks backwards and hiding.]_

 _[Wrustler five and Cowhand, moving!]_ Alisa reports.

I start impatiently tapping my foot while I wait for everyone to fall back, anxiously watching the surrounding jungle for any signs of Chi-Ha-Tan through my cupola viewports as adrenaline from the ambush makes my heart race. Tama takes a moment to open up her hatch and pull the expended shells out of the shell collector, throwing them out to the side of the road so they don't get crushed before closing her hatch again.

The poor visibility seems to work in our favor as we fall back, pairs of tanks rumbling back down the way we came until it's just Naomi, myself, and a rather short second year everyone calls Charlotte.

 _[Wrustler Three turning around.]_

"Roger that. Sheriff turning around." I respond on the command radio before switching over to the intercom. "Sako, get us turned around, don't slip a track."

 _{Yes ma'am.}_

Sako locks one track while reversing, taking us to the edge of the road, then once we're perpendicular to the road she shifts into first and locks the other track, turning us around with the precision of a professional.

 _[Gunslinger turning around.]_ Naomi informs, just as her tank starts turning around, the turret traversing to face backwards over the engine deck.

Once we're all turned around and we start driving like a bat outta hell down the muddy road, Tetsuki takes a moment to lean back and rest her neck from the strain of looking through the gunsight.

 _{Wow, that was exciting.}_ She huffs, then groans when I start massaging her shoulders, still watching through my vision blocks, though glancing down occasionally.

 _{No kidding. It's been awhile since I last got caught in a decent ambush.}_ Megumi giggles.

 _{I wouldn't call it a 'decent' ambush, after all, we traded two of our tanks for two of theirs.}_ Tama yawns, resting the base of the round she's holding on the turret floor.

"Hard left coming up, Sako."

 _{Yeah, I see it.}_

Sako slows the tank down and cuts power to the left track, making us pivot to the left before she gives it power again and quickly speeds up again, starting to climb up the gentle incline.

Following the 75mm Sherman, I get a small amount of time to relax due to the trees being too dense to drive through, ensuring some safety. My phone goes off in my pocket during the lull, and I open the message to find it's from one of Serena's crew, the message being a picture of Serena holding the splintered remains of her guitar, the look on her face being one of mourning and frustration.

Laughing, I lean forward and show Tetsuki the picture. "Poor Serena."

 _{I told her she shouldn't have brought it.}_ Tetsuki giggles as Tama leans over the gun breech to get a look.

 _{Chris, tanks up ahead, they're herringboned off to the sides.}_ Megumi warns, spurring me into stowing my phone and looking through my front vision block.

Sure enough, up ahead, I can see the other tanks pulled off to the sides of the road.

"Sako, slow down. Something's up."

Sako merely clicks her microphone in response and starts slowing down, stopping beside Kay's Sherman and opening up my hatch.

"What's up?" I ask, pulling up the hood on my poncho.

"I want your frontal armor up front! There's a big open field up ahead, and we'll be sitting ducks if the lead tank gets knocked out!"

"You got it!" I yell back before dropping down into my cupola. "Sako, we're taking lead. If we take contact, floor it."

 _{Copy that, forward standard.}_ Sako replies, starting us forward while everyone picks up their posture.

Tama lifts the 75mm round back up and stands ready to load it, while Tetsuki sits up and puts her head to the gunsight, her boot tapping impatiently against the footrest.

 _{I'm watching front 'Suki.}_ Megumi informs.

 _{Copy, traversing to one o'clock.}_

 _{Watching three-thirty.}_ Tama adds, looking through her periscope.

As we rumble and rattle slowly up the muddy road, we break out of the tight trees into an open field on either side of the road, and upon taking a quick glance behind me I can see all the Shermans watching their sectors.

The smooth ride lasts until we're about halfway across the opening, then there's a loud clang of a shell bouncing off the hull as the tank lurches to one side.

 _[Sheriff, you just lost your right track!]_ Naomi warns.

"Sako, Neutral!" I yell, knowing that telling her to 'stop' would mean we'd turn and veer off the road.

 _{Tank, three-thirty!}_ Tama yells, getting ready to load the shell in her hands once Tetsuki fires.

With the engine at high revs, Tetsuki is on the target in seconds.

 _{Ready to fire!}_

"Fire!"

The tanks rocks for a brief second as the gun recoils, slinging the empty shell out the breech while Tama nearly instantly slams in another one before I can even confirm the hit of the first.

 _{Ready up!}_

I look through my binoculars at the spot in the trees where Tetsuki fired, and easily spot the muzzle brake of a Japanese 75mm, behind it being the poorly-camouflaged turret of a Chi-Nu with the incapacitation flag flying above the camouflaged steel.

"Good hit! Vehicle destroyed!" I cheer, slapping her on the shoulder as two 75mm shermans open fire behind us, firing off to our left.

 _{Judge confirmed, Chi-Nu knocked out!}_ Megumi peals enthusiastically, seconds before a shell bounces off our frontal hull. Megumi's MG34 chatters a moment later, followed by her yelling again. _{Target front! Ho-Ni, up the road!}_

Tetsuki is quick on the ball with getting the turret turned to face the new threat, but before she can fire there's a flash to our left, and the Ho-Ni lurches backward before the incapacitation flag pops out of the top. I look over to find Naomi's Firefly pulled up alongside us, with wisps of smoke curling from the muzzle brake.

"Many thanks Gunslinger."

Naomi doesn't respond as her Firefly backs up slightly, hiding partially behind us as another 75mm Sherman pulls up on our right side, protecting our weak side armor against attack.

 _[Sheriff, waiting on your orders.]_ Kay reports through the command radio.

"Roger that. Gunslinger take Cowhand and Wrustler Four, move to defend Birddog Two. Everyone else, set up to defend Sheriff while we fix our track."

 _[Gunslinger copies. Moving to Birddog Two with Cowhand and Wrustler Four.]_

"Megumi, Sako, get ready to dismount. We're going to try to get this track fixed real quick-like."

 _{Roger!}_ Both of them cheer over the intercom before Sako sets the engine to idle at a higher RPM so Tetsuki can traverse the turret faster.

"All elements currently with Sheriff, standby to cover sheriff. We're going to try to fix our track."

 _[Wrustler One lending our assistant driver.]_

 _[Wrustler Three also lending our assistant driver.]_

"Alright girls, just like practice. Three, two, one. GO!"

I swing my hatch cover open and take my headset and helmet off, putting them on the seat as I climb out and jump off the engine deck, landing behind the tank and setting about getting the jack. Sako grabs the spare track links hanging on the back of the turret while Megumi grabs the necessary tools and we set to work while the two assistant drivers get the broken track links off the track.

The surrounding area is silent spare for the rumbling of the tank engines, and as we work the rain finally starts to lighten up, allowing for better visibility.

Barely ten tense minutes after starting the rack repair, we've got everything fixed, and after putting the tools back we mount back up in the tank, settling back into our positions.

"This is Sheriff, we're back in action."

 _{Wrong net Chris.}_ Megumi advises, looking back at me from the hull.

"Whoops." I mutter, changing my handset over to the command channel before trying again. "This is Sheriff, we're back in action."

 _[Copy that. Proceed to grid square Hotel-November-five-two-six via ASR Red.]_ Kay orders, [ _Expect hostile contact upon reaching the open ground.]_

"Sheriff copies, HN526 via ASR Red." I repeat before switching back over to the intercom while trying to find the grid on my map. "Sako, forward standard. Take the next right onto ASR Red."

 _{You got it!}_ She chirps happily, starting the tank forward with a slight lurch.

 _[Sheriff, be advised, in that last engagement we engaged a Chi-He to the left that got away.]_ Wrustler Three warns, the redhead commander watching to the left side of the road.

"Copy that, I'll keep my eyes open for it."

Moving further down the road, we steer around the incapacitated Ho-Ni, observing its very sharp looking tropical camouflage as we pass.

* * *

Turning right onto the muddy road a few minutes later, we claw our way along the ridge, watching the dark tropical forest around us while doing our best to relax, despite the adrenaline. The rain finally completely stops as we near the open ground, permitting me to get a good look at our eerily quiet surroundings. Something seems funky, and I quickly make the call.

"All units, halt."

The column of tanks quickly slows to a stop, and I swing my hatch cover open before standup on my seat, looking around with my binoculars. Seeing nothing, I switch to the intercom for a moment. "Megumi, you're in command until I return. I'm going to recon for a moment."

 _{Roger that, be safe.}_

"Always."

I take my headset off and climb out of my hatch, quickly clambering down off the tank and jogging into the woods on the right side of the road, staying in a low huddle while I move up to the tree line with my binoculars in hand. I brush a palm leaf off to the side and raise them to my eyes, scanning the opposite tree line slowly. It doesn't take long to notice the hastily-camouflaged tanks in the treeline, two Chi-Nu's and a Chi-He, all with their guns pointed at the road, waiting for us to drive into the killzone.

I quickly consult my map in my pocket while a new jolt of adrenaline revitalizes me and hurriedly jog back to the column, tripping repeatedly on the underbrush prior to running back up onto the mudpit of a road and clambering back up onto the Panther. I hastily slip the headset back on and switch over to the command channel while lowering myself into my hatch.

"Be advised, three enemy vehicles ahead. Two Chi-Nu's and one Chi-He. No sign of the flag tank. The Chi-He will be at our two-thirty, one Chi-Nu at our one-thirty, and the last Chi-Nu at nine-thirty. How copy?"

 _[Wrustler One copies. We'll take the Chi-He.]_

 _[Wrustler Three will take the Chi-Nu at one-thirty.]_

"Sheriff will take the Chi-Nu at nine-thirty. All units fan out once we're on the open ground. Sheriff will peel hard left off the road."

The other commanders click their microphones in confirmation, and I take a deep breath to calm my nerves before switching over to the intercom. "Sako, ahead flank. Take a hard left once we're clear of the trees, then halt."

 _{Yes ma'am!}_

"Tama, do what you can to reload faster, we may need to do a double-tap."

 _{Copy that. Unsecuring a second AP round.}_

As we surge forward, I leave my hatch cover open and stick my head out, watching the approaching break in the trees while my heart pounds in my chest. The roar of the Maybach behind me only serves to put me more on edge, and I hold onto the cupola with a death grip as we roar out into the field, almost immediately swinging left off the road and onto the laid-down saw grass of the clearing. I put my foot on Tetsuki's back when we slow to a halt, and even while we're still rocking on our suspension I guide her onto the Chi-Nu, which Megumi is already hosing down with her MG34. Sparks shower off the front of the tank and help Tetsuki find it in the thick foliage.

 _{On Target!}_

"Fire!"

The report from the gun hardly registers to me as Tetsuki goes 3/3 with her shooting, hitting the Chi-Nu in the hull and incapacitating it as the shermans behind us engage their targets.

"Sako, pivot right!" I order, watching Wrustler Three miss the other Chi-Nu, accidentally dumping the AP shell into the ground in front of them when they stop. The Chi-Nu doesn't miss the stationary Sherman, hitting it in the gun mantlet as Kay's Sherman knocks out the Chi-He in quick succession.

 _{Gun ready!}_ Tama yells inside, where I know she's grabbing the second round she unsecured.

Tetsuki wisely uses the higher engine revs to turn the gun towards the Chi-Nu, and I yell for Sako to halt before guiding the gunner onto the tank as it tries to withdraw into the forest.

 _{On targ-}_

"FIRE!"

The gun fires again, and I watch as the shell bounces off the turret cheek with a shower of sparks, careening into the forest behind it, followed by the normally calm-headed gunner urgently yelling over the intercom.

 _{Tamaka c'mon! Load it! Hurry up!}_

Only a moment later Tama chirps through her microphone. _{Clear!}_

Tetsuki fires again as the Chi-Nu starts to get behind a large tree, and her second shot doesn't miss, striking the Chi-Nu in the hull and incapacitating it.

"Good shooting 'Suki!" I cheer, ducking down into the hatch and clapping her on the shoulder.

Tetsuki reaches under the gun breech and slaps Tama's hand mere seconds before the loud 'twang!' of a shell ricocheting off the turret rings our ears. I quickly stick my head out of my hatch to find a Chi-He charging headlong across the field at us, the red flag identifying it as the last tank we have yet to knock out, Chi-Ha-Tan's flag tank.

"Tama! Load!" I yell, putting my foot on Tetsuki's shoulder to guide her onto the tank. She quickly swings the turret around, but before Tama can slam the next round into the breech, Kay's 76mm roars from behind us. The small Chi-He lurches to a halt among the sawgrass, and the white flag pops out of the turret, signalling my first Sensha-Dou win in an official match.

I stare disbelievingly at the flag for a moment, jaw hanging open slightly before I realize it's the real deal and duck into the turret, hugging Tetsuki as tears of joy start to run down my cheeks.

"We did it!"

She sighs in relief and pulls away from the gunsight, patting me on the head. "Yeah, we won. Congratulations on your first win."

Tama quickly puts the shell she had grabbed away and secures it, leaning over the gun breech and patting me on the shoulder, having to use her intercom since she's not as close as Tetsuki. _{It's all thanks to you, commander Christina!}_

I pull back from Tetsuki and shake my head. "No, it's thanks to everyone else. I just gave the orders. I should be thanking you guys, since you're the ones that made it happen."

 _{Message from Kay. She says proceed down ASR Green to the parade grounds, and be sure to pass by the stands.}_ Megumi informs, looking back at me.

"Roger that. We'll meet up on ASR Green with the other tanks I presume?"

 _{Affirmative. Birddog Two and the other tanks are already en-route.}_

"Alright. Let's get a move on then. Sako, get back on the road and proceed up to ASR Green, on the right."

 _{Yes ma'am!}_ She chirps happily, revving the engine and turning us around while Tetsuki traverses the turret to face forward.

Tama opens up her hatch on the rear of the turret and climbs out after clearing the coaxial MG34, sitting on the gun mantlet above Megumi's hatch after Tetsuki engages the travel lock on the gun.

I climb out of my cupola to let Tetsuki out, and she sits on the turret with her legs hanging off the side. I sit on the turret roof by my cupola, close enough that I can still use my radio equipment while still enjoying the fresh air. Kay and Wrustler Five fall into line behind us, the crews climbing out for some fresh air much like we did.

"Good job fixing the track everyone! Flawless!" I yell over the engine.

 _{Luckily they didn't hit too many road wheels.}_ Megumi says with a bit of a groan as she presumably stretches out.

 _{Even then, the damage on the one they did hit was minimal. No damage other than the rubber.}_ Sako yawns.

"When we get back to the garage, let's take off the entire side and make sure there isn't any extra damage." I instruct as we pass a T in the road, where Naomi and the others are waiting. They join in the back of the column, and we steadily wind our way down the roads to the spectator area.

* * *

I pull down the hood on my rain poncho and make sure my hair looks good before we parade ourselves in front of the spectator stands, watching the people cheer, despite many being soaking wet.

Up in the top row, five very familiar-looking guys are especially enthusiastic, waving their baseball caps above their heads along with small American and Japanese flags. Beside them, my Aunt and Alison wave at us as well, though my Aunt is significantly less enthusiastic than my cousin. I wave back with a big smile on my face, unhooking my headset and sitting down on the side of the turret with my legs hanging off the side, hamming it up for the cameras, as well as for my family, both true and adopted.

Sako's done the victory drive before, so I'm not surprised when she drives out to one side of the viewing screen and parks. All the other operational vehicles follow suit, with us being closest to the stands.

"Dismount!" Kay orders after everyone shuts off their engines, and everyone quickly but calmly climbs off our vehicles, with crews lining up in front, while all the commanders gather and line up, watching the Chi-Ha-Tan vehicle commanders and crew members approach. Kinuyo leads the tank commanders over to us after the crews form rank, and we face each other with smiles on our faces.

"All participants will now bow! Ready, bow!" The judge orders.

Together with everyone else, I bow forward, being joined in the cheer by both schools.

" _Thank you for the match!"_

After straightening up everyone relaxes and starts milling in together. I walk over to Kinuyo with Kay.

"That was a truly challenging match! You were quite the worthy opponents!" Kinuyo says with a smile.

"You were very good opponents yourselves. I've never had so much fun before." I respond with a smirk.

"Vice-Commander Christina, congratulations on winning your first match!" Kinuyo says as she bows to me. I bow back respectfully as a couple of her commanders walk over, and upon straightening up she introduces them. "I do not believe you've met any of the other commanders of our fierce vehicles! Fukuda here is the commander of the Ho-Ni tank destroyers you encountered, Hosomi is the commander of one of our new fearsome Chi-Nu's, and Tamada was the commander of our flag tank!"

"It's nice to meet you all!" I chirp, "I was the commander of our Panther tank."

"As well as the overall commander for the match." Kay adds. "And mostly likely for future matches."

Kinuyo and I both gasp, but she asks the question first. "Miss Kay, are you saying you're stepping down from Commander?"

"Outside of the tank, no. However, Chris has proved herself to be a good, intelligent leader. I'll handle all the paperwork, but she will be commanding our battles in the future."

I feel my face heat up in a blush, but bite back any harsh words and nod. "I accept these terms."

"Congratulations on the field promotion, Commander Christina." Kinuyo says with a bow before hastily glancing over her shoulder. "Please excuse us, we must get everyone ready to embark on our return."

"Of course. Safe travels to you." I respond before all of them hurry off to collect their crew members.

Looking around, I find a whole group of people walking over from the stands, including some adults. Most specifically, at the head of the group is Hartmann, with a big grin on his face. I run over and hit him in a flying hug, getting spun around by him before he sets me on my feet and hugs me. "Way to go kiddo! We saw the whole thing!"

All of the other guys in the group jog over and start congratulating me as Chi-Ha-Tan loads up in trucks and drives away. Kelso messes up my hair before Stevens pinches my side. Then Hartmann separates us before I can hurt the troublemaker.

"Hey Chris!" A voice of a familiar and fellow tank enthusiast yells from my right. I quickly turn to find Yukari walking over with the rest of Ooarai's Anglerfish team.

"Yukari! I didn't think you guys would be here!" I cheer as we walk up to each other and stand at attention, giving a salute before we both start giggling.

"I couldn't miss the first Sensha-Dou match of my best friend, could I?"

"Well, I mean there was that one time you missed my piano recital because you went to the tank museum..."

She blushes a deep shade of red and sputters indignantly. "This is different!"

I giggle and nod. "Yeah I know. So how'd you enjoy the match?"

"That was awesome! Even Kuromorimine doesn't use their Panthers that well!" Yukari cheers enthusiastically. "You guys are like the Saunders version of Anglerfish team!"

"I wouldn't go that far…" I mutter while rubbing the back of my neck. "We've still got a long way to go."

"The name you gave your Panther is very interesting." Miho says with a smile, looking over at the Panther while Sako and Tama do their best to hose off the mud.

"I was against it at first, but eventually I decided to give it a try." I respond with a respectful bow towards her.

"I like it. It's very suiting for a Panther being used by Saunders." She giggles.

"Chris! It's time to go!" Kay yells from the line of tanks.

"Got it Sis'!" I yell back before turning to Yukari and her friends. "I'm sorry to cut this short. Maybe we could meet up some other time. Good luck to you all in your match against Anzio!"

We exchange a bow before I run back over to the _Unicorn_ and climb up onto it, waving to everyone as Sako starts the engine and revs it, causing a series of small backfires when the revs drop back down.

I sit on my cupola and put my headset on. "Sako I think we might need to tweak the timing a little."

 _{Yeah I heard it too. It's fine. Everyone on?}_

"Yep. We're all here. Let's go home."

 _[Okay Saunders! Let's get back to the carrier, it's time to party!]_ Kay cheers over the command net as her tank starts out, being followed out by all the others, with the _Unicorn_ falling in line near the rear of the column.

 _{You know what time it is Chris?}_ Megumi asks me after a minute.

I look at my watch. "1532?"

 _{Naptime.}_

 _{Or time for my book.}_ Tetsuki hums over the intercom.

"Naptime sounds better."

* * *

 **[A/N]: Sorry for taking so long to update. This chapter required rebuilding multiple times. I tried several different ideas, but none of them really seemed satisfactory.**

 **I'll be taking a temporary break from writing to get my ideas straight, and I'll probably start working on this again sometime in mid-late February at the earliest. Mid-late March or early April is a realistic expectation for when I'll begin writing again.**

 **I'll say this for clarification sake:** **No, I'm not giving up on writing Odd One Out** **. I'm merely** **taking a break from writing it** **so I can brainstorm and come back to the story fresh.**

 **Thank you all for your support, and please leave a review! ALL criticism is welcome!**


	12. Chapter 12: Preparation

**[A/N]: Well hell... I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but it would appear I do.**

 **Life and work have got more hectic, and sadly I don't have much time to write anymore. That doesn't mean I'm giving up, but it's gonna be even longer between uploads. Writer's block has hit me hard too.**

 **With that, I present to you my progress since my last update. I hope you enjoy, and if anyone has any ideas as to how I can extend the time between matches, please shoot me a PM.**

* * *

"I mean… I _can_ do it, but why do you want _me_ to sing? My singing voice isn't that good." I ask Kay over dinner, looking at a music and lyrics sheet beside my plate of casserole.

"Because you've known English since you were little, you've done this song before, and your singing voice is much better than you think. I've seen the videos." She says with her trademark smile, knowing she's got me cornered. "You only have to sing for this song. I won't ask any more from you."

I think back to the last time I sang the song while I chew a bite of food, and sigh before stacking the papers. "I'll do it, but when and where are we performing?"

"Two days before our next match. We're going to have a bonfire and a tailgate party to blow off steam before the match."

"So that's… a little less than two weeks?"

"Yeah."

I hum in thought for a moment before my attention is finally brought to my aunt, who is glaring at me, having repeatedly stomped on the foot of my prosthetic. "Yes?"

"Can we talk about something at dinner _other_ than tankery?"

"Sure. What would you like to talk about?" I ask, putting her in the spotlight.

"Well there's uh…." She tapers off for a minute, her face progressively turning more red until she huffs. "Fine!"

I smile and turn back to Kay. "Sumiko had an idea for a command element of a couple heavier vehicles to accompany the Panther. Two Pershing's."

"Isn't that the new girl with the eyepatch?"

"Yeah. We know each other from when I was in the hospital. Her sister's a platoon commander for the All-Stars team."

"Well, do the Pershing's fit into the doctrine?"

I think for a moment and nod slowly. "A bit loosely, but yeah."

"Then I'll have two pulled out of storage. Though…. The all-stars usually buy up most of the parts…. So getting parts might be a bit difficult…"

I finish my dinner and sit back in my chair. "Do what you can. I don't think we'll need them ready for the next battle, but if we get into the finals we'll definitely need them. While my mind is on the subject, who is our next opponent?"

"Bonple High. A Polish-based school, but they bought some Shermans from us during the off-season."

"Lend-Lease…." I grumble, excusing myself from the table and carrying my dirty dishes into the kitchen. Once my dishes are in the sink I go to our room and sit on my bunk, starting my research on Bonple.

* * *

 **X-Three days later-X**

"X multiplied by the denominator of C… Carry the five..." I mutter to myself while I'm doing homework, my headset over my ears and my computer on the floor beside my bunk. "If C is…. wait…. _what_?"

 _{'User joined your channel!'}_ The automated voice peals through my headset, jerking my attention away from the excessively long math equation.

"Hello?" I ask in English, hoping it's one of my American friends.

 _{Hey! Where you been?}_

"Hi Brandon. Sorry for not dropping in more often. I've been busy with school and Sensha-Dou."

 _{It's all good, I've been getting more hours at work. How you been?}_

"I've never been better. Kay made me operational team commander, I won my first official Sensha-Dou match, and it turns out I do have some blood family in America."

 _{Congratulations! Does that mean you'll be moving to America?}_

"Maybe, I don't know yet. I'm trying to-"

 _{'User joined your channel!'}_

 _{She lives!}_

"Hi Goodwin."

 _{'Sup.}_ The Canadian chuckles.

"Oh, just the usual. Been really busy."

 _{Haven't we all. I'm just stopping by to say hi. I'm off to work. Later!}_

 _{'User disconnected from your channel!'}_

"Anyways. As I was saying, I've just been trying to get a feel for how my aunt ticks. She's nice and all, but I get the impression she's not a fan of tankery."

 _{Yikes. She been trying to get you to quit or something?}_

"No, nothing like that. She doesn't like it when Kay and I talk about it at dinner, and she doesn't want my cousin to join the team, despite the fact that they're here for a couple months." I respond while trying to figure out the problem, debating if I should peek at Kay's notes or not.

 _{ . . . . Hey take a look at the link I'm about to send you. Look's like you're gonna be famous.}_ Brandon says before the chat pings with a notification.

"Eh?"

I pull my computer up off the floor and open the link, finding a picture of me taken after the previous match, my legs hanging off the turret and my prosthetic in full view while I wave at the crowd. The title is what surprises me.

 _'Saunders' New Commander?'_

"What's this?"

 _{People caught on quick that you're the new commander. I just was looking for the footage of the match when I found that.}_

I start scrolling through the discussion page out of curiosity, and find multiple people providing evidence towards the claim, backed up with timestamps for the multi-perspective video that the Sensha-Dou team released. Others ask questions like 'where'd this girl come from?', to which there's a ton of speculation, some of which is really out there.

"Wow, this discussion is huge."

 _{No kidding. There's two branches from it as well.}_

I continue scrolling through the various posts under the discussion for nearly half an hour until Kay walks in, flopping down on her bed.

"Hey Sis', come look at this." I say in Japanese.

"Do I have to?"

"I'd prefer if you did, it's a discussion page about our match."

 _{Hi Kay!}_ Brandon cheers loud enough to make me cringe.

"One of my American friends says hi."

 _{Unplug your headset, I wanna talk with her!}_

I sigh and do as he asks, unplugging my headset and pulling it down around my neck while Kay stands up and walks over. "He wants to talk to you."

"Okay. Hello!"

 _{Hello Kay! You're awesome!}_

"Awe, thank you! Where in America are you from?"

 _{I'm from Virginia.}_

"Wow, how'd you get to know Chris?" Kay asks, scrolling through the article with an intrigued expression.

 _{We met playing on Arma. She kinda tagged along with our group, and after all the fighting was done we asked if she wanted to join.}_

"Mainly because I'm a girl." I tease him.

 _{N-no! Er…. okay maybe a little, but also because you were really good.}_

"For a girl."

 _{ . . . I plead the fifth.}_

I roll my eyes and sigh. "Figured."

Kay giggles and sets the computer down, going over to her bed and grabbing her paper, comparing answers with me while Brandon excuses himself, going to do something away from his computer.

"You messed up on that one, that's why you're confused."

"Eh? Let me see how you did it . . . Oh! I see. Thank you."

I start working on the problem again, erasing what I already wrote and redoing the equation. Once I actually have the problem set up, everything falls into place and I move onto the next equation.

"So what did you think of that forum?" I ask Kay, starting to crank out the rest of the equations.

"People have definitely done their homework. They know what to look for."

I nod and finish the last problem on the page, then put the paper in my bag. "How long until we have practice?"

"Two hours. Then we've got maintenance and prep after that. I was just about to send out a two hour heads-up."

 _{I come back and all I hear is Japanese.}_ Brandon states calmly.

"Got a problem with that?" I challenge jokingly.

 _{Nope. Though I'm half expecting subtitles to pop up on my screen somewhere.}_

Kay and I both sigh as my phone goes off. I pick it up and unlock it, looking at my messages.

* * *

[Sumiko: HQ platoon warm up before practice?]

[Me: Eh… okay! Meet at the garage in 30 minutes.]

[Sako: I'll pick you up in 15 Chris.]

[Tamaka: Suki and I are boresighting the gun right now.]

[Me: If you wait, I'll help!]

[Tamaka: No need, we're almost done.]

[Me: . . . I'll be there in a bit. I wanna walk.]

* * *

I lock my phone and put it in my back pocket, grabbing my jacket and putting my prosthetic on, having not bothered to remove the boot. "The HQ platoon is going to practice before practice. I'll see you there."

"Oh okay. Can I use your computer?"

"Sure." I say with a nod, picking it up and disconnecting from the voice lobby before carrying it over to her desk. I throw my jacket on and walk into the hall, finding Alison already there.

"Hey. I was just about to go for a run." She says with a knowing smile, hiking a small backpack up on one shoulder.

"Me too. Did you clear it with Kaylee?" I ask.

"Nah."

"Okay then." I giggle as I open the front door and wave her through, following close behind and gently closing the door. We both jog down the stairs and start up the street towards the school, passing the general store and theatre a block from the house.

"I wanna help the team with maintenance. I don't care what my mom wants." She huffs from beside me.

"I'll help cover for you as best I can." I huff back, enjoying the run. "But she'll bust you eventually. There's no hiding the smell of steel and oil."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"So how are your classes?" I ask, since she started as a temporary transfer student recently.

"They're . . . Going. I'm having trouble keeping up with how fast the teacher is talking. People really follow stereotypes though . . . it's like being in Japanese class all over again, just . . . reversed." I snort in amusement before she continues. "I want to join the Sensha-Dou team, but mom won't let me, so I joined the mechanic club."

"That's good. You'll be able to help us with less suspicion from your mom then." I pat her on the back before I slow down, now only a block from the school.

"Yeah . . ." She pants, looking at the massive red building, " . . . I can't get over how big this school is."

"Yeah . . . . It's one of the biggest schools in Japan." I sigh happily, running out of things to talk about. We cross the street and pass through the gate, then I notice some students walking out of one of the auxiliary buildings, and promptly steer Alison in the opposite direction. "This way~"

"Huh? Why?"

"Don't worry about it, just walk faster!" I hiss as we round a corner. We quickly walk through one of the alleys, then enter the garage through a side entrance.

"What was all that about?!" Alison yells once we're inside.

"That, was the cowboy club. In the interest of time and sanity, it's best you don't encounter them."

"Cowboy club…?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.

"They dress up like cowboys and use _very_ bad accents. They're so cringey it hurts."

"Oh… thanks." She mutters with a disturbed expression as we approach the rear of _Unicorn_.

"Christina-sama!" Sumiko's voice peals from between _Unicorn_ and one of the Pershings. I grab Alison and pull her back, just in time for the one-eyed girl to come sailing out of the gap, stumbling and falling face-first on the concrete when she doesn't collide with either of us.

"Hi Sumiko. Tone down your excitement a little please. You see me every day."

She merely pouts as she gets up and walks over, giving me a quick hug, then climbing up onto her Pershing, lowering herself into the commander's hatch.

"Chris! We've got the practice area reserved! Let's go!" Sako yells from the front of the Panther.

"Alright! Command element, load up!"

"I'll be in the weight room. See you after practice." Alison says with a smile, saluting me before she jogs off towards the opposite end of the garage, opting to use the back door through the equipment and parts storage area.

I clamber up onto the engine deck of _Unicorn_ and lower myself into my cupola, giving Tetsuki a friendly clap on the shoulder before putting my headset and helmet on. "Start it up, Sako!"


End file.
